Tourism Has ‘No Choice’ To Devise Virus Safeguards

He pointed to the likes of Emirates Airlines, which is screening the temperature of passengers – and conducting 10-minute tests on samples of their blood – to ensure they are COVID-19 free before they are permitted to board a plane. Then there was Singapore, which is hiring a private sector consultant to develop a scheme for testifying – and certifying – that tourism industry staff have a clean bill of health.

Revealing that The Bahamas is already fielding calls from airlines wishing to resume flights to this nation, and inquiring whether there was sufficient hotel rooms to accommodate their passengers, Mr D’Aguilar suggested that smaller Bahamian resort properties will likely “get back on stream a lot quicker” than mega resorts such as Atlantis and Baha Mar.

He added that “firing them up is going to take some time”, and said: “They’ll stage the re-opening, do it bit by bit, as opposed to all at once. They’ll have to be comfortable that there’s scale to warrant opening.”

Looking ahead, the minister told Tribune Business: “The difficult part of this is we have to live with this virus, and everybody in almost every circle is stand-offish. I wouldn’t say afraid, but cautious about how to engage a fellow human being.

“The same is true for travel and staying in a hotel. There’s going to have to be protocols, and we’ve not done this before. We have to make people feel comfortable to travel here, and those that live here comfortable to receive them. Figuring out what makes everyone comfortable is going to take some time. We’re going to look at countries taking the lead on this to see how best to roll it out.”

Mr D’Aguilar continued: “It’s a bit more complex, and it is going to take a lot more thought on how we’re going to convince those coming here that The Bahamas is safe, and those that live here that those coming are safe.

“Tourism is a contact sport. You offer to carry their luggage, bring them a towel or get their food. A lot of the experience is interaction between guest and employee. We’re going to have to partner with the BHTA in terms of what are the protocols we’re going to deploy to provide a standard that is satisfactory to everyone.”

By NEIL HARTNELL
The Tribune
April 17, 2020