Hoteliers banking on COVID-19 Vaccine -Hoteliers on the western end of the island remain on edge as the COVID-19 pandemic wreaks havoc across the world; with the winter tourist season officially starting on Tuesday, December 15, they are hoping to see increased bookings and anxiously await the administration of vaccines.
The Winter Tourist Season officially starts on Tuesday, December 15 and the hopes of hoteliers are hanging by a thread. The first Vice President of the Jamaica Hotel and Tourist Association ( JHTA) and General Manager of Deja Resort in Montego Bay, Robin Russell says many persons tend to travel around Christmas Eve, unless they are experiencing a horrible winter which would push them to travel sooner. Even so, he’s expecting increased occupancy.
Russell is also hoping the administration of vaccines will be enough to stop the Coronavirus in its tracks. The UK’s first place to approve the Pfizer/Biontech Coronavirus Vaccine for widespread use.
Russell’s not the only hotelier banking on an effective Covid-19 vaccine. Errol Rayson, owner of Rayon Hotel in Negril also has his hopes up.
Health Minister, Dr. Christopher Tufton says, the ministry’s working to vaccinate 16 per cent of the population come 2021.
He says of the 16 per cent, 1 per cent is expected to receive the vaccine by April, another 3 per cent by mid 2021 and the remaining percentage by the end of the year.
However, he says this is not an invitation for persons to become complacent.
-ALADDEN LOVE
