Give us a date for the reopening of the tourism sector – JHTA’s Cummings

WESTERN BUREAU:

Jamaica Hotel and Tourist Association (JHTA) executive Wayne Cummings is calling for a date to be set for the reopening of the country’s tourism sector, as he believes that, by doing so, it will create the path leading to the desired reopening.

According to Cummings, who is a former president of the JHTA, if such a proactive step is not taken, it could lead to the death of the industry, which employs more than 250, 000 Jamaicans. At present, the vast majority of the persons employed in the sector are now unemployed as a direct result of the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“If for some reason that date is not the ideal date, then we set a new date. If we don’t do this consistently, we are going to stay closed forever,” said Cummings, while speaking at a virtual public forum hosted by the Montego Bay Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the University of the West Indies (UWI) Mona, Western Jamaica Campus, under the theme, ‘COVID-19: Surviving the Storm’.

“Setting a date for the reopening of the economy, even if other economies of the world are not yet ready, it gives us something to work towards,” noted Cummings.

PROTOCOLS DEVELOPED

He also revealed that local tourism stakeholders have developed a set of protocols towards the reopening of the country’s tourism sector.

“We feel that we are very close to a set of protocols that seem to be finding favour around the world, but certainly here in Jamaica. And, as soon as those protocols have been agreed on, we would be advising on the global travel trade, airlines, cruise, travel agents, tour operators, that this is what we believe we have to work with,” said Cummings.

The tourism official noted that, when the procedural protocols are signed off on, they should be implemented by every sector of society.

“It is good for these protocols to be implemented across the length and breadth of the tourism sector, but, beyond the tourism sector into the local population, whether it is a local supermarket or it is a corner shop, we all are going to have to buy into this new way of surviving by reducing, if not eliminating, the possibilities where we can infect each other,” he continued.

Since being separated from their jobs, a number of tourism workers have been complaining bitterly, saying they are having a challenge coping because they were sent off without any form of financial assistance.

“I am a permanent employee of 15 years’ experience and I was sent home empty-handed to my family,” a woman employed to a prominent hotel in Montego Bay told The Gleaner recently. “I feel insulted by the whole thing, because they treated us like trash.”