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Jamaica hints at possible cruises, updates entry requirements By Cindy Sosroutomo TORONTO — Cruising has picked up significant steam in recent days, with Crystal announcing on March 11 that it will be resuming operations this summer and now word coming from the Jamaica Tourist Board (JTB) that it’s currently in talks with several cruise lines about the possibility of homeporting in Jamaica this year. The news, announced by Donovan White, JTB’s Director of Tourism during a recent virtual travel trade briefing, would be a significant development in Jamaica’s recovery plan, as the cruise industry represents a major economic driver for the island. According to White, if all goes well there’ll be cruise itineraries across three or four different ports in Jamaica. After flying to the island, cruisers will be taken to their cruise port before embarking on voyages that either remain in Jamaican waters or sail to other islands before returning to Jamaica. “We will have more to say in the coming weeks but you can be assured that conversations are indeed happening and the necessary policy and strategic frameworks that are required to make this a reality are, in fact, in place and are being reshaped where necessary,” said White. When it comes to recovery, Jamaica has fared better than other tourist destinations, thanks to swift health and safety measures taken early on in the pandemic. Like with many destinations, Jamaica temporarily closed its borders to tourists last March in an effort to mitigate the spread of COVID-19, but managed to roll out its phased reopening by mid-June during which time a Resilient Corridor was introduced from Negril to Port Antonio. Within this stretch of coastline, designated hotels and resorts, all of which had implemented stringent safety measures, safely welcomed back tourists to Jamaica’s shores. In those first two weeks after its reopening Jamaica welcomed just over 7,000 visitors, “which we saw as an encouraging sign,” said White. Momentum continued to build, boosted by Air Canada’s resumption of service in June, and by July and August the island was 6 | TRAVELWEEK | March 18, 2021
Donovan White, JTB’s Director of Tourism
seeing over 80,000 visitors. In December, its highest visitor arrivals month in 2020, Jamaica welcomed just over 90,000 visitors. “The establishment of Resilient Corridors was a critical measure in which the destination sought to manage the
“You can be assured that conversations are indeed happening and the necessary policy and strategic frameworks that are required to make this a reality are, in fact, in place.” pandemic,” added White. “At a time when very little was known about the COVID-19 virus, the Ministry of Tourism and the Ministry of Health & Wellness worked together with international tourism and health organizations to identify health and safety protocols that would keep our travellers and local communities safe upon reopening.” Jamaica was on track to build on De-
cember’s promising numbers in 2021, but then came the news of Canada’s cancelled winter sun flights in January, a measure taken by the federal government to protect Canada’s borders from concerning COVID-19 variants. With no flights coming in from Canada until April 30, Jamaica saw a dip in January arrivals with some 43,800 visitors. February looks to be more encouraging, however, with preliminary estimates putting total visitor arrivals at just over 50,000. “The Canadian market has been extremely soft,” said White. “Most of the carriers did not restart when we reopened and the ones that did since the reclosure of borders or the grounding of air travel out of Canada, those bookings have significantly softened. Looking ahead even six months out, as of right now we are still relatively low. We’re still less than 10% of room nights booked compared to 2019 at the same time, so it’s extremely soft.” White did, however, report a “phenomenal” level of responsiveness from travel agents and tour operator partners in Canada, as well as client demand and requests for opportunities in Jamaica. When asked how he feels about Canada’s ongoing travel