Tourists who arrived on the island by sailboat some months ago are sharing their experience as the country remains under partial lockdown. They say they have been given the go-ahead to leave, but prefer to remain here until the Covid-19 pandemic passes in their homeland.
“For us, we are allowed to leave since we are travelling on a sailboat,” says Norwegian sailor, Jorgen Breivik.” I think the way they are handling incoming sailors is not good at all.
Another Norwegian sailor, Eirik Bomo shares that he has been in Jamaica for more than a month. “Right now, we are allowed to leave but for the first two weeks, we were not allowed. We know a few other boats that have been in quarantine.”
Jamaica is heavily dependent on the tourism industry which brings in billions of dollars per year. But, with the sector severely impacted by Covid-19, there’s a long way to go. Tourists may not return for months or even years.
Vernice Cardello is a tourist who resides in New York – currently the epicentre of the Covid-19 outbreak in the United States. She has been in Jamaica since January; originally visiting to escape the winter but now trying to avoid getting ill.
“As beautiful it is, I miss my family, my friends, I miss my own bed,” she says. “I am very much wanting to get home and haven’t been able to get home.”
Carbello says she has tried to get a flight out but to no avail. The United States Embassy in Jamaica indicated that U.S citizens who considered returning home should work with their airlines to make travel arrangements.
“My next flight got cancelled with JetBlue and rescheduled for the end of April and then that got cancelled and now what I am hearing from JetBlue is that there are no flights till June.”
The future of tourism in Jamaica now depends on how quickly countries like the US, United Kingdom, Canada and others recover. Many countries are already easing restrictions, but the present threat of Covid-19 means that there could be a new wave of infections which may affect developing countries ability to recover economically.
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