Tourism Minister Randall Mitchell said the new safe traveller stamp and app by the Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA) shows that T&T and the region are open for business.
He was speaking Thursday at the launch event for the Caribbean Travellers Health Assurance stamp for Healthier Safer Tourism (HST) and The Caribbean Traveller’s Health Mobile App.
Mitchell described the tools as a significant step in the fight against COVID-19 and the preparation for a post-pandemic economy. He noted that after the health sector travel and tourism were the first impacted by the pandemic and he predicted it will be the last to recover.
“The sector has been devastated.”
He said in the recovery process the two services will travellers to the region will have confidence in the knowledge that the destinations are safe and healthy spaces.
Chief Medical Officer, Dr Roshan Parsaram said the proactive steps by CARPHA will go a long way in inspiring confidence in travellers and boost the tourism climate. He stressed that while economic activity has to be reignited there must be a new blueprint due to the pandemic. He said the new tools will not only boost tourism but by the reduction of transmission, it will assist the public health sector.
He reported in Trinidad and Tobago there has been a 10 per cent COVID-19 positivity rate among returning national and this has been carefully managed. He said when the country reopens its borders the two CARPHA mechanisms will be effective tools for Trinidad and Tobago as well as for countries that have already opened their borders.
Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association (CHTA) CEO and Director General Frank Comito in his remarks thanked CARPHA for the proactive role in ensuring the health and safety of visitors, employees and residents.
He said collectively, every effort is being made to provide the assurance to visitors that they can travel to the Caribbean with confidence. He stressed health safety is top of mind for travellers when choosing a destination.
“So the tools CARPHA is sharing with you today underpinned our industry’s health and safety efforts.”
He added: “As travellers seek to escape to the Caribbean to recover from the stress and strains of the pandemic they too can help accelerate our economic recovery and reopen our businesses and reengage our employees who hunger for the opportunity to provide that legendary Caribbean hospitality.”
He explained visitors can plan a “wellness escape” to the Caribbean through the CARPHA initiatives and the health and safety commitment of the industry.
“And they can travel with confidence.”
Caribbean Tourism Organisation (CTO) Acting Secretary-General Neil Walters said the CTO has been working with CARPHA for the past six years and on issues such as zika and chikungunya. He said the pandemic has brought more sharply into focus the need for more collaboration between tourism and health.
“We (in the region) are actually forging ahead of the rest of the world and have forged (this collaboration) over many years.
He said the agencies have made great strides in the protocols and guidelines to ensure the health of residents and visitors as countries opened to international travel. He described the new CARPHA tools as key mechanisms to assure potential travellers of their health and safety as they plan their travel.
“We will be an oasis of health and safety in this international crisis.”
Deputy chairman of Sandals Resorts International Adam Stewart said 2020 has been a very difficult year, and with the Caribbean being the most tourism-dependent region the pandemic has left the industry decimated. He stressed the importance of giving confidence to customers and travellers about the health situation and reported Sandals has been training all its team members on the necessary guidelines.
On the new CARPHA tools, he encouraged all hoteliers to get on board.
“The Caribbean is one of the most resilient regions in the world and we will build back stronger.”
CARPHA Executive Director Dr Joy St John said in the midst of the global pandemic when travel and tourism have all but stopped she was glad the agency Traveller’s Health Programme (THP) is lighting the way back to economic recovery for the Caribbean. She said the tools were CARPHA’s contribution to the “regional armour” to mitigate the impact of COVID-19 and are crucial hospitality measures for COVID-19 and other public health threats as it develops in the future.
The stamp is a measurable and verifiable recognition award for tourism entities and destinations that are implementing the recommended proactive COVID-19 health monitoring and safety measures.
The Caribbean Traveller’s Health Mobile App is a unique, multifaceted, health information repository, designed for travellers and health and tourism stakeholders.
It provides travel health information by each Caribbean destination (inclusive of vaccination requirements, health care facilities, accommodations listings), health alerts of current public health issues, COVID-19 proactive/prevention measures, and travel requirements by country (testing, health screening, pre-approval, and tracking).
The app links directly to CARPHA’s COVID-19 situation reports, guidelines, and the THP. The app also identifies accommodations and other hospitality facilities within a destination that have been awarded the Caribbean Travelers Health Assurance stamp.
Dr Lisa Indar CARPHA director of surveillance disease prevention and control said the new tourism tools will elevate Caribbean tourism to a pristine level, build traveller’s confidence and reinstate safe and healthy travel to the region, especially during COVID-19 times. She added this will set the Caribbean apart globally.
