JAMAICA’s former tourism minister projects the tourism industry won’t recover from the COVID-19 crisis until June 2021 and will see 80 percent recovery only by winter of next year.

Damian Crawford’s projections come after the Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association reported the industry has experienced “near complete suspension”.

Mr Crawford, in a paper shared with The Tribune, noted that World Travel and Tourism data shows the Bahamas ranks ninth in the world for dependence on tourism, fifth in terms of what tourism contributes to employment and sixth in terms of tourism’s export contribution.

For the industry to recover, he says potential tourists must first be convinced their own homes are safe.

“Our first bar on the Gantt chart, will therefore be dependent on the estimated end of new cases emerging in the United States, in particular the NY tri-state, Canada and Britain,” he said. “The mayor of New York City, Bill de Blasio, suggests that the peak is expected at the end of April.

Press Conference Remarks, Update on COVID-19, Response by The Most Hon. Dr. Hubert Minnis, Prime Minister, Sunday, 19 April 2020.

Read the full statement here