Last Updated on November 12, 2020, 5:21 AM AST by Anthony Morris
Jamaica will shortly roll out travel protection and emergency service programme which allows travellers to the country to be covered in the event of an emergency.
Tourism Minister Edmund Bartlett said this programme would position Jamaica as one of the most COVID-resilient countries when it is launched, in December hopefully.
Speaking at the Jamaica Product Exchange Live 2020, on Monday, Bartlett said that the programme was developed to assure visitors that their well being and safety was being taken care of when they travel.
Bartlett said that Jamaica Cares would add another layer to the COVID-19 safety and health protocols, as were endorsed by the World Travel and Tourism Council.
Director of Tourism Donovan White said that the resilience corridors are two specific areas in Jamaica which contain 80 per cent of the tourism assets of the island.
He said that they run from Negril to the Milk River in Clarendon and from Negril in the northwest to Portland in the east, both along the coast.
White said that the travel authorisation process was another procedure which allowed Jamaica to screen visitors.
Visitors can apply for this document through the Visit Jamaica website, and they can present it upon check-in to a flight to Jamaica if approved. He said that some changes were made to the authorisation to make it easier.
Bartlett said the decision to lock down the UK recently meant the cancellation of a lot of flights which would not resume till mid-December.
He said that this had a devastating impact on the projected tourism numbers.
Bartlett said that he did not think the change of presidency in the US would affect the number of tourists visiting Jamaica, as Americans like to travel.
He said what might change would be how the virus is managed.
He said that if the virus is managed and the spread is controlled effectively, the tourism numbers may return to pre-COVID levels.
Anthony Morris covers stories related to politics and regional developments. His in-depth reporting about governance and reforms makes him stand out in regional journalism, with a deep analysis of political trends and their impact on Caribbean communities.
