Where to start…..
Jamaica is doing its best to try and act as one government with one voice, but sometimes not everyone gets the memo.
I had a short conference session with some of the JTB last night, it was 8pm on a Saturday so they are working well after normal business hours. It seems on Friday, a PR firm hired by the JTB, Finn Partners, put out a Press Release stating that visitors “must adhere to the Stay in Zone order, which requires persons to remain at their hotel or resort within the Resilient Corridor for the duration of their stay.” This is somewhat ambiguous as the Prime Minister and Minister of Tourism have repeatedly stated that the stay in zone order means just that, stay in the Covid Resilient Corridor, the entire corridor. I don’t know for sure how that order changed or just the wording added, but it could easily be due to the number of infections being detected on incoming arrivals from the US. Out of the 6 new cases reported yesterday, 4 came from the US. The Ministry of Health may be directing this order, which is well within their powers to protect the country.
The JTB officials I spoke with still maintain that the stay in zone means stay in zone, but the press release was on the JTB letterhead, so as of the Friday press release, I would recommend that all visitors stay on their property for the time being. I am hoping we will find out more when the offices open on Monday as the confusion is helping no one, but with the attractions to soon open, this all might be a moot exercise. The wording would have to change drastically to allow visitors to attend the attractions.
In all this confusion, this presents major problems for certified properties that have no dining facilities, of which many have been approved and are accepting guests.
TDPCo, Tourism Product Development Co., is the entity in charge of certifying the properties, attractions, restaurants, bars, etc. There are a tremendous number of places to certify, so they are doing their best to get their job accomplished.
The Ministry of Health’s number one job is to protect the health of everyone on Jamaican soil, residents and visitors alike. The number of Covid deaths has remained at 10 for a couple months, so they are doing the best they can to accomplish that goal.
The Ministry of Tourism is in charge of making Jamaica the premier destination in the Caribbean. They have been implementing fluid guidelines to fit the needs as they arise. There is no COVID-19 manual, so they are doing the best job they can to accomplish a nearly impossible job.
There is a bit of damned if you do, damned if you don’t scenario happening here, with each agency trying their best but not all the direct goals are the same. The end goal is the same, but the individual goals are not.
Which brings us to the Prime Minister who is in the unenviable job of balancing the health of the people with the economy of the country. So far he seems to be doing a great job with that balancing act.
This is a highly complex undertaking with many different goals and points of view. And we should be hearing more very shortly which will hopefully end the confusion.
