The Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association says it is urging the government of Canada to reconsider its new testing rules for return travel to the country.

The rule, which took effect Jan. 7, requires all residents and travelers entering Canada from the Caribbean to provide proof of a negative PCR test before their planned departure to Canada. 

The move “will strain already stressed Caribbean public health systems and cause further damage to the region’s economy,” the CHTA said in a statement. 

“This policy is creating challenges and places even greater economic hardship on the people and governments of the Caribbean and on the thousands of Canadians currently in the Caribbean who are scheduled to return home in the coming weeks,” said CHTA’s Acting CEO and Director General Vanessa Ledesma.

The organization said that the “mere announcement” of the policy had resulted in a “rash of cancellations” by Canadians who had been scheduled to travel to the region. 

“As the policy takes effect, we anticipate many stranded Canadians being unable to return home due to their inability to get tests in the required time,” Ledesma said.

The organization said it naturally recognized that the policy was intended to mitigate the spread of the virus in Canada. 

“Our commitment to the health and safety of residents and travelers is best demonstrated by the COVID-19 protocols and containment measures which are in place throughout the Caribbean, and the thousands of tourism employees who have undergone health safety training conducted by CHTA and its health safety partners, the Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA) and the Caribbean Tourism Organization,” she said. 

“On behalf of the Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association and the 33 National Hotel and Tourism Associations throughout the region, which are part of our Federation, we respectfully request reconsideration of this policy for the Caribbean,” CHTA said in an official submission to Canada’s Minister of Transport Marc Garneau and shared with Canadian High Commissions and Consulates across the region.

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St Vincent and the Grenadines has announced a series of new protocols for travelers marked by a new mandatory quarantine requirement. 

All travelers from “high-risk” countries, including the United States, United Kingdom and Canada, must undergo mandatory quarantine for 14 days in a Tourism Authority-approved quarantine hotel at their own cost. 

All travelers must arrive with proof of a fully paid reservation — in other words, if you want to travel to St Vincent, you’ll need to plan for a stay at your hotel of at least two weeks. 

So what does “quarantine hotel” mean? 

Effectively it means travelers will have to remain at their hotel — with dozens of accommodations already approved for that purpose, from the luxe Mandarin Oriental, Canouan to the Palm Island resort, among others. 

That is in addition to the country’s existing requirement of proof of a negative PCR test within 72 hours before arrival n the country. 

Travelers must also be retested a second time between day four and day seven of their quarantine. 

The aim of the new measures is the “safe entry of travelers to St Vincent and the Grenadines in a manner that reduces the risk of the importation and subsequent transmission” of the virus in the country, according to a government statement. 

For more, visit St Vincent and the Grenadines. 

— CJ

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The Sonesta brand has made its way to Puerto Rico. 

Sonesta has officially opened the Royal Sonesta San Juan Resort in Puerto Rico, following a rebranding of the former InterContinental San Juan. 

The 398-room resort is set in the beach neighborhood of Isla Verde in San Juan. 

It’s home to 24,000 square feet of flexible meeting space, seven restaurants and bars, a spa, a lagoon pool with a swim-up bar, among other amenities. 

The property has relaunched under the “Stay Safe With Sonesta” program of health and safety protocols, which include everything from enhanced cleaning and sanitizing to the requirement of masks in all indoor public areas, among others. 

The rebranding is the result of a transaction with Service Properties Trust, which transferred 103 former InterContinental-branded hotels to the Sonesta brand last summer, as first reported by Caribbean Journal Invest.

It’s the first Royal Sonesta resort in the wider Caribbean, now part of a regional portfolio that also includes two all-inclusive hotels in St Maarten: the Sonesta Ocean Point and Sonesta Maho Beach Resort. 

You can find more on Puerto Rico’s entry protocols here. 

For more visit Royal Sonesta San Juan. 

— CJ

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Travel demand for the Caribbean continues to rise amid the pandemic, according to a new report from travel insurance platform Squaremouth. 

While international travel has unsurprisingly decreased, the Caribbean is taking a larger share of international travel demand in the U.S. market, the company said. 

Of the 20 most popular international destinations right now, seven are destinations in the Caribbean, according to Squaremouth, which complied the report based on data from trips booked in 2020. 

The company’s data was based on travel insurance policies booked through Squaremouth, comparing sales trends since the start of the pandemic to data from the immediate months — and year — prior. 

“Caribbean countries that remained open to US tourists skyrocket in popularity,” the company said. 

– CJ

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