Concerns over COVID-19 rise triggering tourist cancellations

Jamaica recorded another death from COVID-19 in the past day and saw another dramatic uptick in positive cases. There are now 20 fatalities from the disease, and 102 new cases yesterday brought the total infections recorded since March 10 to 2,113.

The arrival of COVID-19 in Jamaica, nearly six months ago, and the consequent shuttering of the tourism and entertainment industries, have resulted in sharp declines for tourism, although there has been a gradual build-up since the reopening of the borders in July.

The latest arrival figures for July 2020 point to an alarming but expected decline of 84.5 per cent over the corresponding period last year, with only 41,941 arrivals on the island, down from 281,115 stopover arrivals up to December last year.

"The revitalisation of travel to Kingston continues to be a challenge, and most properties in the city are currently operating at about 10 to 15 per cent occupancy levels", Chris Jarrett, president of the Kingston chapter of the Jamaica Hotel and Tourist Association, told The Gleaner.

"And we just lost a booking for 93 room nights in Montego Bay this week due to the COVID-19 spike following on nomination day and election campaigning. But generally, Montego Bay is performing much better than Kingston," he added.

JTB responding to fallout

In response, the Jamaica Tourist Board (JTB) and its branches in the United States, Canada and Latin America have been working to build and sustain travel, when it becomes possible, and to amplify brand awareness for Jamaica throughout the pandemic.

"Once we received word that Jamaica was closing her borders and travel would come to a halt, we immediately devised a plan to keep the brand alive with our travel agents, tour operators and our airline partners, and we continue our efforts daily, depending on prevailing conditions," Donnie Dawson, deputy director of tourism for the Americas, told The Gleaner.

"It is important for us to maintain our strong travel trade relationships and keep Jamaica top of mind during the pandemic," Dawson added.

Jamaica maintains relationships with more than 40,000 high-yielding travel agents across the United States and Canada, and the JTB said engagement with them began immediately following the downturn in Jamaica. It said first it provided information on Jamaica to help determine if travel clients should reschedule, cancel or seek refunds. The next step was to engage thousands of agents in new ways to keep the brand alive and exciting.

Further, it noted that in the absence of in-person visits to travel agencies, service calls became telemarketing wellness calls; trade seminars morphed into online training workshops; and what would have normally been 'thank you' functions for the trade turned into "lively chit-chat Zoom calls". the JTB said.

Monthly webinars are also now conducted biweekly; monthly eNewsletters produced and issued weekly to increase connectivity; and social media platforms, such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn, have now become an even more important part of the communication and marketing strategy to reach almost 40,000 people weekly, along with amplified email blasts.

Additionally, the JTB explained that it has used an elaborate and exciting audiovisual musical journey to chronicle the development of Jamaican music: mento, ska, rocksteady and reggae, to use as a cultural magnet. Competitions have also been mounted across key markets to place focus on Jamaica. These include the 'Treasure Hunt Trivia' series and the 'Picture Me in Jamaica' photo contest. On Travel Agent Day several weeks ago, the JTB partnered with Grace Foods in the USA to create a 'Jamaica Quiz Challenge' in which successful participants won Grace food baskets loaded with Jamaican treats.

"Our activities have increased greatly during the COVID-19 pandemic, and in fact, we've never been busier, and our team continues to be the industry leader creating a kaleidoscope of activit[ies]", Phillip Rose, JTB's regional director for the Northeast, said.

"The global market has a big appetite for Jamaica and we continue to answer the call despite unprecedented times," he said.