Miami, Florida:
Jamaica and the Dominican Republic will be the beneficiaries of a significant portion of the business of one of the United States' largest tour operators to Mexico, Apple Vacations, after it cancelled reservations to that destination as a result of the swine flu outbreak.
Fifty per cent of Apple Vacation's business goes to Mexico annually.
However, in keeping with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) advisory against non-essential travel to Mexico, the tour operator joins a long list of agencies that have responded to the precautionary measures. So, too, have several British tour operators, who have been moving their guests to Puerto Rico and Jamaica, and Canada's Sunquest Vacations, which says it will cancel all flights to the Spanish-speaking country for the next month.
"Our guests are being moved primarily to the Spanish hotels such as the Grand Palladium, Riu Resorts and Iberostar, because their rates are very competitive," Apple Vacation's Destination Manager Neville Malcolm, told The Gleaner.
He said the last seven days have been absolute chaos with bookings having to be re-arranged. In addition to the Jamaican hotels getting a windfall from Mexico's downfall, the scheduled carriers flying to the country are reportedly reaping the benefits.
They include Air Jamaica, American Airlines, Spirit and US Airways.
Several cruise lines, including Holland America, Royal Caribbean, Norwegian, Carnival and Princess, have also pulled their ships from five Mexican ports, namely, Alcapulco, Cabo San Lucas, Cozumel, Ensenada and Mazatlan, a report from cruisecal.com said. Yesterday, some 14 calls were cancelled.
"So far, from the cancellations in Mexico, we have confirmed Enchantment of the Seas for calls to Montego Bay, May 5 and 19 and Ocho Rios, June 2 and 16," John Byles, president of the National Cruise Council of Jamaica, told The Gleaner.
Cautious optimism
Each port, Montego Bay and Ocho Rios, could earn up to US$100,000 per call between tours and shopping, taxi drivers and attractions. "But this windfall is very precarious and should be viewed with cautious optimism," said the expert on cruise tourism, Prem Mahtani, of Ocho Rios.
On the land-based side, the first set of tourists that The Gleaner knows of are scheduled to arrive on the island today to commence stay at the Rose Hall Resort and Spa, a Hilton resort.
"I picked up one group and I lost one to Puerto Rico," the resort's General Manager Dermot Connolly confirmed. He said he has been receiving many calls from tour operators all over. He noted, however, that he was very concerned from a worldwide perspective.
"If this continues, there will be a complete shutdown of travel," he cautioned.
A release from the Caribbean Tourism Organisation (CTO) on Tuesday sought to reassure the region that there were currently no identifiable cases of swine flu among the 33 (CTO) member countries.
It said, however, the region was taking a proactive effort related to this virus, stating that member countries have already begun adopting measures for greater surveillance to prevent the virus from spreading to the region.
The organisation is advising travellers planning visits to the Caribbean that they should also visit the websites of individual member nations for information on individual policies and screening procedures relating to prevention of the swine flu.
The CTO will continue to monitor the global situation closely. In the meantime, travellers should follow simple guidelines to help prevent the spread of the virus, including:
If you are experiencing respiratory illness, avoid travel and contact your health-care provider.
Wash hands frequently to lessen the spread of respiratory illness.
Avoid close contact with people who are coughing or appear ill.
Cover coughs and sneezes.
Avoid touching eyes, nose and mouth.
janet.silvera@gleanerjm.com