Why Jamaica in the COVID-19 Period Draws Tourists

"Following the COVID-19 outbreak, Jamaica's government has revived tourism activity through a science-based strategy that involves stringent protocols and an innovative "The Corridors Resilient" system that gives tourists access to 80% of Jamaica's tourism attractions, officials said Tuesday.

The plan seems to be paying dividends. "We already see positive signs that buoyancy is returning to the [tourism] sector," said Jamaica's Minister of Tourism, Edmund Bartlett.

Speaking at the Jamaica Product Exchange Virtual (JAPEX) conference this week, Bartlett said preliminary statistics from the Jamaica Tourist Board (JTB) suggest that since re-opening on June 15, the county has welcomed more than 211,000 tourists.

"The occupancy rates of hotels are slowly increasing," he said. "When compared to the previous period of our massive downturn, we will see a 40 percent increase in arrivals over the winter season."

JAPEX government and tourism officials outlined steps that Jamaica is taking to sustain and increase vital tourist arrivals while minimizing island-wide COVID-19 infection.

Protocols for Tourists

Visitors to Jamaica are expected to fill out an online travel authorization form two to five days before their scheduled arrival. Registered travelers obtain a certificate they are expected to show at the check-in of their departing flight. Before leaving, U.S. travellers must also upload the results of a negative COVID-19 exam.

The procedures are accompanied by a basically touchless operation at the main airports in Jamaica, officials said. Peter Mullings, Head of Technology and Administration of JTV, said The travel authorization and health screening protocol process is aimed at conducting the immigration and customs process in a more efficient and safe way."

In COVID-19 protocols, Jamaican officials have additionally trained tourism industry employees, including resort, attractions and transportation operators. A screening program involving spot checks is also being conducted by government agencies to ensure that organizations accredited to function following COVID-19 training remain in compliance.

After Jamaica's June re-opening, just under 900 companies have returned to service, said Deanne Keating Campbell, director of product quality and training at Jamaica's Tourism Product Production Company Limited (TPDCo).

Campbell said there have so far been "No major breaches identified from the monitoring of [tourism] activities," and she noted Jamaica's operational protocols were established in collaboration with the World Travel & Tourism Council.

The Corridors Resilient

Jamaica’s “The Corridors Resilient” comprise two extended coastal regions that incorporate roughly 80 percent of its tourism areas and only one percent of its resident population, said JTB officials.

The first section of the Resilient Corridor stretches along the northern coast of Jamaica from Negril in Westmoreland to Port Antonio in Portland. The second section, from the Milk River in Clarendon back to Negril in Westmoreland, extends west along the same shore.

Visitors have been restricted to these areas, enabling the nation to provide a comprehensive holiday experience during which travelers can stay at more than one hotel or resort in the Resilient Corridor while visiting multiple parts of the region.

“We had to ensure we had seamless, safe and secure way for [visitors] to travel, an alternative program that provided an end-to-end, much more safe product,” said John Byles, director of Chukka Caribbean Adventures and chairman of the The Corridors Resilient program.

"In order to ensure that their experience was never compromised, we decided on protocols that ensured our team concentrated on the [guest] touch points," Byles said.

There is no doubt that the hallway was working," he added." It is also a rationale for the protocols. We do not depend on any particular protocol; the efficacy of the combined protocols is really about it. Seamless and safe travel is our target.

“To date there are no known cases of infection along our The Corridors Resilient,” said Bartlett.

Jamaica will launch 'Jamaica Cares' later this month, a 'end-to-end' travel insurance package that offers emergency medical and disaster management services to travelers through a public-private partnership with Global Rescue, said Bartlett.

Non-Jamaican passport holders would have to buy policies that are initially priced at $40 per user (Bartlett said Tuesday rates are likely to be slightly reduced).

The plans include medical emergency management, transport logistics, field rescue, evacuation and repatriation programs, including COVID-19, as well as emergencies, including natural disasters. For travelers traveling to and from Jamaica, they provide international health coverage of up to $100,000 and on-island health coverage of up to $50,000.

The scheme blends emergency services from Global Rescue with domestic and foreign health insurance for travel, officials from Jamaica said. The required fee will be included as part of an application for a Travel Permit, the approval of which will enroll travelers in the program.

"Post-COVID visitors will not be the same as pre-COVID ones," Bartlett said. "They need to be re-assured that they are taking care of their safety and well-being as they travel."