Canadian Visits to Jamaica Slow to a Crawl, But Tourism Board Says Better Times Are Coming

Canadian Visits to Jamaica Slow to a Crawl, But Tourism Board Says Better Times Are Coming

March 11, 2021 Jim Byers

Canadian bookings for Jamaica are very soft right now, but the Jamaica Tourist Board is confident things will rebound.

“The Canadian market has been extremely soft,” Donovan White, Director of Tourism at the Jamaica Tourist Board, said on a Zoom call with the media on Thursday.

White said most Canadian flights weren’t re-instituted last year after Jamaica re-opened its borders. And then, in January, all four major Canadian airlines said they would agree to a federal government suggestion that they help slow the spread of COVID-19 by suspending all flights to the Caribbean and Mexico until April 30.

“Looking ahead even six months out, as of right now we are still at less than 10% of room nights booked compared to 2019 at the same time,’ White said. “So it’s extremely soft. We’ve been told by our Canadian partners that there is demand, there is a level of anxiousness to get out and to travel, but the typical response of an extremely conservative Canadian marketplace (is that) they’re waiting on the announcements of, I suppose, the permits to travel.”

“But we remain pretty confident that we will have our fair take, our fair share of the Canadian travel marketplace once travel resumes,” he said.

White said all passengers flying into Jamaica, whether they’re foreign residents or Jamaican citizens, must be able to present a negative COVID-19 test taken three days prior to their arrival. That applies no matter what country they’re coming in from.

Jamaica has had an increase in COVID-19 cases of late, but White said the government is acting quickly and that vaccinations of Jamaica residents has begun. He also said there have been only a few cases of visitors testing positive for the virus.

More than 40 hotels and resorts on the island are providing on-site COVID-19 tests for guests, White said. The government also has added more mobile testing labs and added testing facilities at major airports.

White spent a considerable time talking about the Jamaica CARES program, which aims to keep both visitors and Jamaican workers healthy.

“Jamaica CARES demonstrates to the tourism industry our vision for travel during this pandemic era, and well beyond it,” he said. “Jamaica CARES is about Jamaica and our commitment to keeping our local communities working and healthy. Jamaica CARES also is about travellers, delivering a seamless and coordinated, COVID-secure travel experience.”

The letters in CARES stand for Covid-Secure, Authentic, Resilient, Engaged and Seamless.

White said the program “enables fun and authenticity, while also insuring health and safety. We also instill confidence in consumers, alleviating the concerns of … travellers as they resume their travel patterns.”

Jamaica has been working on a program called Global Rescue, which would require all non-Jamaican passport holders who visit the country to buy an insurance policy at the cost of $40 USD. Policies will cover services including “case management, transport logistics, field rescue, evacuation and repatriation for medical emergencies including COVID-19, along with crises including natural disasters,” officials have said.

White said that program is close but has not yet been implemented.

One idea that was floated during Thursday’s zoom chat is to have more cruise ships begin and end their voyages in Jamaican ports. White said the idea is being discussed and that trips might be entirely in Jamaica or perhaps take in three or four other Caribbean destinations.

“We have the utmost confidence that Jamaica’s tourism will again take its place as the most innovative and resilient Caribbean destination, and the pride of the region,” he said.