CHTA President predicts rapid return of Caribbean tourism

CHTA president, Pablo Torres

Pablo Torres, the president of the Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association (CHTA), predicted the Caribbean will see a return of tourism to the region, “faster than many parts of the world,” thanks to the protocols and partnerships implemented throughout the region to help lessen the effects of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.

Averring 2021 would be a year of recovery, Torres declared, “Tourism is our key to recovery, to restoring the livelihood of thousands of employees in our industry, to reopening our doors, and welcoming our guests.” In addition to replenishing tax revenues to cash-strapped governments, Torres noted that a tourism revival would refresh and renew “the minds, bodies and spirits of millions of travelers who will discover that the Caribbean is the best place on earth to recover from the ravage of this pandemic.”
Describing COVID-19 as an unprecedented challenge, he applauded the Caribbean’s rapid response to the pandemic, which helped to contain the spread of the virus more effectively than many other parts of the world. He saluted the “countless health heroes” whose dedication and sacrifices had averted a great deal of human suffering and have helped to set the stage for the economic recovery the region will be experiencing in the coming months.
Torres commended not only health care professionals but also front- and back-of- house workers across many industries, including tourism, airports and airline personnel, immigration and customs officers, and ground transportation workers: ”You have led by example, providing exemplary services while adhering to essential health safety protocols. We are all in debt to your service.”
The hospitality industry veteran lauded CHTA’s “key partners in health”, including National Hotel and Tourism Associations, the Caribbean Public Health Agency, the Caribbean Tourism Organization, the UN World Tourism Organization, and the World Travel and Tourism Council: “Through collaboration and sharing insights and expertise we all help one another.”
From territory- and country-specific COVID-19 testing requirements and stringent cleaning and sanitization protocols in place at accommodations providers to social distancing and face mask policies and rules limiting capacity at restaurants and other gathering places, Torres noted that the Caribbean hospitality sector has gone to great lengths to protect and ensure the health and safety of both residents and visitors.
Recalling that the Caribbean and its tourism sector has weathered many crises over the years and has always rebounded, Torres described 2020 as a year when CHTA members were challenged to do more with less, including significant revenue shortfalls.

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2 Comments

  1. Parrot Pawol
    January 6, 2021

    Indeed Tourism will rebound quickly once the Covid 19 Pandemic is put under control.

    The rebound in Caribbean tourism will depend on how quickly our source markets, the USA, Canada, UK, Germany, France, Scandinavian countries, recover from the pandemic and how quickly their economies recover.

    Unfortunately we don’t get many if any at all visitors from our so called friends in China. Although they claim to have the pandemic under control.

    The French West Indies which accounts for about 25% or more of our stay over arrivals is not expected to recover soon. The ? Is will Dominica benefit from the recovery when it comes?

  2. Anonymous
    January 6, 2021

    I think he is trying to build hopes and spirits but the fact remains that no one knows when or how fast things will recover. I believe instead we should take note of the dependency which exist upon tourism and how such dependency has brought our economies to its knees during this pandemic. But food will always be consumed no matter what, therefore we should identify with this and realise even within our region the food which is being imported could provide more sustainable or resilient jobs as oppose to tourism, which is mostly seasonal, if we could have a percentage of those imports secured for local production and improve on regional trade.

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