Tourism is a key to revitalize economic recovery of the Caribbean – WIC News

Caribbean: Tourism is the major economic booster for many countries around the globe and has expanded tremendously over the years. Tourism has experienced extensive diversification and has become one of the fastest-growing economic sectors in the world.

World Tourism Day aims to create awareness internationally of the significance of the sector and its impacts on the social, cultural, political, and economic values of various societies.

The United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) chose September 27 as the date for World Tourism Day because it coincides with an important milestone in world tourism, which is the anniversary of the adoption of the UNWTO Statutes on September 27, 1970.

World Tourism Day was instituted in late September 1979 and was first celebrated on September 27, 1980.

The tourism sector holds significant importance for the Caribbean nations as it is the prudent instrument of the small island nations economies. Most of the Caribbean countries, including St Kitts and Nevis, Barbados, Dominica, Grenada, Antigua and Barbuda, offers excellent holiday opportunities, including cruise rides.

The recent spread of the COVID-19 pandemic in the region has made the economies standstill as governments were forced to impose lockdowns to stem the virus spread. Travel and tourism sectors were amongst the most affected sectors with flights on the ground, hotels and resorts closed down and moreover, travel restrictions put in place that no person can roam freely.

Role of Vaccination

With the rollout of vaccines around the region, people imagine that recovery is now closer and most of the Caribbean nations will see a boom in tourism again. Unfortunately, this is not reality, most of the countries in the Caribbean are offering COVID-19 vaccine, but people refrain from taking the jab which makes the nations more vulnerable if they reopen for tourism. Public decisions may put many tourism workers at risk while affecting their businesses which entirely rely upon tourism. Many families are becoming poorer in the country and people are changing their jobs to survive.

However, frequent changes in travel restrictions are also putting the travel plans of visitors at risk. This also affects the confidence of travellers as they will have to change their plan or will have to cancel their vacation, so they are looking for other options.

In addition to that, travellers now have to get tested before travel and there is a big gap in coordination or clarity over regulations of the countries people are visiting. Flight cancellation and rescheduling is also a major concern that is making people wary of travelling.

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Tourism is a key to revitalize economic recovery of the Caribbean - WIC News