By Kevon Browne
St Kitts and Nevis (WINN): During the Tuesday (October 6) broadcast of Leadership Matters, Prime Minister Dr. Timothy Harris in his address alluded to some of the steps the tourism sector is taking to address concerns about the opening of borders come October 31.
The COVID-19 National Task Force, the Ministry of Tourism including the Tourism Authority are in charge of determining entities that can be certified as being compliant with COVID-19 protocols and hence can be certified as part of a bubble of low-risk services and entities that visitors and residents can access.
Harris went on to state that work is ongoing in getting various identified stakeholders up to speed and will be diligently pursued by the task force and the entities themselves.
Since the announcement of the border reopening date the Chief Medical Officer, Doctor Hazel Laws, has been meeting with hoteliers.
“I am advised that discussions have taken place with Park Hyatt, Marriott, Four Seasons, [and] Koi at Hilton. Our task force is open for continuing discussions as and when necessary.”
Currently, Dr. Harris reported, hotel operators are finalizing lists of on-compound services which can be safely provided to guests and discussions are ongoing regarding access to selective excursions or tourist sites which visiting guests can safely access.
Some examples PM Harris gave included; Brimstone Hill National Park, Ziplines, ATV tours, safari tours, Romney Manor, rainforest tours, and selective beaches.
He went on to state, “The list, of course, is not exhaustive. There are two broad categorizations to determine the extent and timing of integration by tourists into our society; this is of course based on their country of origin. These destinations can be broadly categorized as those which are part of a bubble; that is low-risk countries and other countries which we may classify as high risk.”
