NASSAU, BAHAMAS — Tourism Minister Dionisio D’Aguilar yesterday acknowledged there will be “ebbs and flows” in the hotel sector as it continues to grapple with the impact of the pandemic, suggesting that the industry would see a rebound by year’s end.
D’Aguilar, while addressing reporters ahead of a Cabinet meeting yesterday, said: “There are going to be ebbs and flows in the hotel sector. At the same time as you are having the downsizing at Baha Mar, I believe they are about to open the SLS and Rosewood, so you will see workers being called back to work there.
“Obviously, as we progress through the year, I am of the view that as people get the vaccine and become emboldened to travel, more people will travel.
“During the course of this year, things will begin to get better, culminating at the end of the year. We should have a fairly robust Christmas, at least compared to 2020.”
D’Aguilar added: “We have to understand that there are impediments to travel. There are no flights from Europe because they are in a constant state of lockdown. Canada has banned all flights to the Caribbean through April 30. World leaders are recommending to their citizens not to travel.
“When you come to The Bahamas, you have to get a PCR test, have it uploaded to get a [health] visa and you have to get a rapid antigen test to return to the United States. Some people feel that it’s just too much and that there are too many impediments in place, but we feel they are necessary to protect our people.
“That is why, by and large, we have had relatively low amounts of COVID and there is a consequence to that, which is impediments to travel.
“Until the world gets more and more vaccinated and it becomes easier to travel, you will not have these impediments.”
D’Aguilar said he believes the country’s COVID-19 numbers justify moving the country from Level 3 to Level 2 of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) travel health notice.
