EDITOR’S NOTE: Near the beginning of April, #HealthCaribbean featured Health in the Travel Sector in our edition 2021-04-15. This newsletter does the same. We only cover two destinations here, namely: Dominican Republic, and Jamaica. Information on other destinations are available in our twitter feed. Simply explore #HealthCaribbean on twitter.
Our headline, taken from the english webpage of the Congress of ASOCIACIÓN DOMINICANA DE TURISMO DE LA SALUD (ADTS), reads: “The 5th International Health And Wellness Tourism Congress, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic”. This annual Health and Wellness Tourism Congress will be held between 9th and 10th June 2021.
Eighty-six percent of hotels in the Dominican Republic have been open since last March, most in Santo Domingo, Puerto Plata, La Altagracia, and Samaná, The destination is one of a few that does not require U.S. travelers to have a negative COVID-19 test result, but this will be needed to re-enter the U.S. Enhanced health and safety protocols are also in effect for travelers.
The Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA) has been working with Caribbean Airlines, under its Regional Traveller Health Programme, to facilitate healthy, and safer travel during the pandemic. Finally, 30,000 tourism industry workers in Jamaica were vaccinated early in April, after lobbying from the Jamaica Hotel and Tourism Association.