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With borders now reopening in the Caribbean, Abra Dunsby examines how the market is faring.
The Caribbean is no stranger to crises and disaster management, having endured countless hurricanes over the years.
Its strategic approach and quick reaction to the Covid-19 outbreak – by locking down and closing borders swiftly – is perhaps one of the reasons the region suffered relatively low numbers of virus cases, a fact it hopes will help draw visitors back once travel safely resumes once again.
Many of the islands are hoping to welcome tourists back as soon as possible by reopening their borders this month and next, with a phased opening of the region and various measures in place to ensure tourism comes back safely.
Saint Lucia was the first to open its borders to international tourists on 4 June, with visitors required to present proof of a negative Covid-19 test within 48 hours of boarding their flight. Antigua and Barbuda also opened to tourists on that same date.
Jamaica was next, reopening its borders on 15 June, with all arrivals screened via thermal temperature checks and symptoms observation, with testing on arrival obligatory for all. The country’s health and safety protocols are reassessed every two weeks.
Turks and Caicos will follow, opening its borders on 22 July.
With the UK currently enforcing a two-week quarantine for those entering the country and the FCO still warning against all but essential travel, it’s unlikely British tourists will be among the first to return to the Caribbean, yet there are glimmers of positivity, which include British Airways’ plans to recommence flights to Antigua and Kingtson, Jamaica in July.
Clients who visit the region will not only find dazzling beaches with gin-clear water thanks to the lack of tourism due to lockdown, they’ll also be able to help jump-start one of the world’s most tourism-dependent economies.
Carol Hay, secretariat of the UK and Europe division of the Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO), predicts an “extremely positive” winter season, thanks to a “combination of pent-up demand, increased consumer reassurance, the hot climate and a greater consumer focus on the environment and wellbeing”.
Research by Forward Keys recorded a spike in customer interest in travel to the Caribbean for this winter – searches for outbound flights to the region for travel in December are up by about 13% compared with searches made in 2019.
Its research revealed the top-searched countries were Barbados, Jamaica, Cuba, Dominican Republic and the Bahamas.
For luxury operator Caribtours, the majority of enquiries and bookings have been for islands including Saint Lucia, Antigua and Grenada.
The operator has noticed a general jump in enquiries and bookings in the past three weeks for late 2020 and 2021 trips, with forward bookings for next year currently up by 20%.
“Our smaller, idyllic, niche product seems to have a particular appeal,” says Paul Cleary, managing director of Caribtours, who adds the operator has noticed a trend for stays in “smaller, individual, boutique hotels”, as well as bookings and enquiries for larger group family trips.
Caribtours hopes to encourage sales for later this year and 2021 through a new marketing campaign launching on 28 June, and will reinforce a safety message to clients by providing them with reusable face masks in their booking confirmation “care packages”.
In addition, Cleary and his team are currently in talks with tourism boards and the Caribbean Hotel & Tourism Association (CHTA) to establish safety protocols for all the operator’s featured Caribbean destinations and hotels
Client safety is also of utmost importance to Sandals and Beaches Resorts, which recently published Sandals’ Platinum Protocols of Cleanliness featuring information about how social distancing will be enforced at each resort.
It also details the reduction the capacity of resort transfers by around 50% and explains the introduction of a new online check-in system, allowing guests to bypass the front desk and go straight to their rooms.
Karl Thompson, managing director of Sandals and Beaches Resorts’ UK tour operator Unique Caribbean Holidays Limited, says bookings for 2020 and 2021 are “steadily coming in”, most of which are for couples-only Sandals Resorts rather than family-friendly Beaches Resorts, although the latter has received some multigenerational bookings.
In terms of destinations, Sandals properties in Barbados, Jamaica, Antigua and Saint Lucia have been the most popular over the past few months, says Thompson, adding that bookings to Antigua, Saint Lucia and Jamaica have perhaps been influenced by the fact that these were some of the first countries in the region to reopen their borders.
Other hotel brands introducing safety measures include all-inclusive chain Hard Rock Hotels, which has reopened all its properties in Mexico and the Caribbean.
Its Hard Rock Safe + Sound cleanliness and sanitation programme, developed in collaboration with health and safety partners including Ecolab and NSF, includes measures such as social distancing by the pool and on the beach, mandatory masks worn by team members, suspension of self-service buffets and touchless in-room dining.
Specialist operators including Caribtours and Unique Caribbean Holidays have recognised the hard work and dedication from agents to their clients during this difficult time, and are working with the trade to encourage new bookings.
Sandals has created online offer flyers featuring deals of the week for agents to share on social media, and encouraged agents to complete online training modules and 360-degree virtual tours.
Meanwhile, Caribtours is working with agents that are reopening to offer a welcome back message and recommends agents take its online training course.
Cleary believes the crisis has allowed agents to prove their value to clients. “All our new business in the past few weeks have been agent business. Agents have shown their value so much and I think we’ll have to capitalise on this when this is over.”
Erin Johnson, marketing director at Sovereign Luxury Travel and Citalia, recommends two accommodation options from an expanded Caribbean programme.
For families: Sugar Beach, A Viceroy Resort in Saint Lucia has Grand Luxury Villas that are perfect for
a family of four. There are lots of dining choices so there is no need for anyone to be too close to each other in restaurants, and we have some fantastic offers on at this hotel.
For couples: Finest Playa Mujeras in Mexico has an adults-only section and rooms with private pools, with good discounts for early bookers.
What are your thoughts on the new Gatwick-Montego Bay British Airways service, which launches 13 October?
It's great news for us. We've always had discussions with Gatwick regarding Montego Bay, and the fact this route is going ahead is a good indication that the work we've done over the years to position Jamaica within the UK market is paying off. The flight is also the only route extension for BA right now. Being chosen for new routes, as well as being given air bridge support [by the UK government] is a good development.
How are enquiries and bookings doing since the UK government eased travel restrictions to Jamaica?
The pandemic has taken business to flat levels, but we have seen some indication of a turnaround already. We were at -55% growth last month compared to the same last year, but that's been brought up to -52% this week. We expect winter bookings to get revved up by the trade in the next six weeks, as well as for summer 2021.
How are you supporting the trade through this period?
We've been very active right through lockdown and our teams in the UK have been engaging with agents, hotel partners and tour operators.
