A top hotelier in the Cayman Islands said that the recently announced plan to safe tourism in the country changes very little for the time being as bookings have not picked up as of yet as a result.

Marc Langevin, general manager of the Ritz Carlton Grand Cayman, told Caribbean Magazine Plus that there has been no real change to the travel protocol coming into the Cayman Islands. Everyone is still on a “wait and see” period for October to see when and if other vaccination targets are met, if they are met. 

He noted: “The government wants to see 80 percent people vaccinated by October for them to lift travel protocols for vaccinated travellers, including for small children to enter into the country in November. Until that time we have to sit and wait.

The Cayman Islands announced “new” plans for reopening the island for tourism, what Mr Langevin said isn’t really new but a restatement of the same position the country had a month ago.

The first phase happened in June with the island reducing quarantine periods and easing other travel restrictions. Of which, for fully vaccinated and securely verified travellers, a mandatory five-day quarantine is in place; unvaccinated travellers are required to undergo a 14-day isolation period.

In this coming August there will be the removal of GPS monitoring. All local businesses must adhere to the advanced safety protocols issued by regulators and Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA) guidelines. All travellers will continue to apply for entry authorisation via the Travel Cayman Portal.

All of this Mr Langevin said does not change anything significantly as the most important phase happens in September and under condition of an 80 percent vaccination rate of the island.

“We just have to hope that we can reach that 80 percent vaccination target,” Mr Langevin said. He further argued that it is doable but the island residents need to play their part and get vaccinated. “Hopefully we can all be ready to go for next year January when all of these protocols are phased out and we can begin to operate normally again.

“If we can meet the vaccination target established, we have chance to save the year end Festive season for the stay-over tourism, but we do not expect cruise visitors to be coming back until the last phase set for late January.”

Up to this time there has been no significant increase in bookings as a result of the announcements by the Cayman government, something Mr Langevin hopes will change as people become more confident that the island is handling the COVID-19 vaccination and safety protocols seriously.

The date for significant change has been set for the month of October, where quarantine requirements will be removed for all securely verified, fully vaccinated travellers. Unvaccinated visitors will be required to apply for entry via Travel Cayman and quarantine upon arrival for a 14-day period. Additionally, all travellers must declare travel and vaccination status on the Travel Cayman Portal.

The Cayman Islands has a phased reopening plan, subject to change.

source: caribmagplus.com