Travel tips. Caribbean. Central America.
Three reasons why you should visit the Caribbean during the pandemic (and not feel guilty about it)
How to stop feeling guilt and shame about taking a vacation during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Making the decision to travel for leisure during a pandemic is complicated.
Are you putting yourself and your family at increased risk of COVID-19? Will you inadvertently spread it to another community?
Many celebrities have been criticized for traveling abroad and gloating about their vacations on social media. They appear out of touch with what most people face every day with lockdowns, limits on social gatherings, and mixed public health guidance. Guess what? You can travel (and gloat) as well. As long as you are not highly vulnerable to COVID, adhere to local safety protocols and your intended country accepts tourists, you should take that vacation, without a profound sense of guilt.
As a public health professional who has spent a decade traveling around the Caribbean for work and leisure, I put together a few reasons to make yourself feel good again about going on vacation:
- Get a deal
It may not seem like it, but most countries in the Caribbean are open to U.S. travelers, with some restrictions on movement. Generally, a visitor can stay onsite at a resort for the duration of their visit. Slowly, hotels in the Caribbean are reopening and need to fill rooms. This means you can likely score some great deals. Here are two real-world examples I experienced recently.
- Last year, during the middle of the pandemic, I was able to book an all-inclusive Hyatt resort in Montego Bay, Jamaica, for two people, for $372/night — a 30% discount from their typical rates. I previously stayed at this resort for work and was blown away by the food, service, and beach. Previously, I paid $350/night, just for myself. So two people for $372/night was a great deal. Plus, the hotel dropped their deposit requirement and allowed cancellations up to two weeks prior to arrival.
- Just this week, I booked a Best Western hotel in Belize City for work and got a free night by staying at least four nights. I have stayed at this hotel several times over the last few years and this was the first time they had offered such a deal. Typically, the hotel is always at or near capacity.
2. Save some jobs
Tourism drives the Caribbean economy and it was devastated after March 2020. Before the pandemic, tourism accounted for a significant share of gross domestic product (GDP) in the region, ranging from 30% in Grenada to nearly 60% in Antigua. Consequently, the majority of workers in the Caribbean were involved in tourism. For example, nearly 50% of workers in St. Lucia were directly or indirectly supporting the sector.
By August 2020, international tourist arrivals to the Caribbean had dropped 64% compared to the year before. As a result of the sharp and sudden drop in arrivals, Jamaica’s Ministry of Tourism reported that around 120,000 tourism workers had been laid off or furloughed. And this does not include workers indirectly supporting the tourism industry (i.e. retail shops, beach vendors, bus drivers) or workers who stayed on the job but part-time. By December 2020, some Jamaican tourism associations estimated that only 30% of laid-off workers had returned to work.
By taking that trip, you are actively supporting employment in the region. And, this doesn’t even include the impact your tourism dollars have in the United States through increased demand for travel agents, taxis, airport restaurants, and airlines.
3. Low Risk
Obviously, travel of any sort right now potentially increases one’s risk of catching coronavirus. That’s why I do caution that anyone over 65 years old and/or immune-compromised think carefully about unnecessary travel — international or domestic. However, if you are under 65, healthy, and without underlying health conditions, international travel should not increase risk.
First, many Caribbean countries are experiencing smaller epidemics that do not appear to be driven by international travelers. In fact, you may be at lower risk of contracting COVID-19 while in a Caribbean country than in the United States. For example, in early February 2021, I calculated that my relative risk of contracting COVID-19 was 80% less in Belize than in my county of residence in Florida.
Second, many Caribbean countries are requiring visitors to effectively quarantine at their hotels and resorts. This means you will have fewer encounters with random people that could increase your risk. Many countries and resorts in the region also require masks to be worn in public spaces.
Finally, there is limited evidence that airplane travel, in of itself, is a major risk factor for transmission. The CDC states that, due to how air is circulated and filtered, viruses can not effectively spread in airplane cabins. Studies by researchers at Harvard University found that through a mix of risk reduction strategies — air filtration systems, enhanced cleaning, face masks — travel by airplane was no riskier than other everyday activities. In fact, if you travel internationally right now, there may not even be that many passengers on the plane. On my flight to Belize this past weekend, the plane was only 30% occupied.
So, by all means, take that Caribbean vacation you were planning, sans guilt and shame. Assuming you can afford it, do not have any significant underlying health conditions, and are not a politician escaping power blackouts during a Texas snowstorm, definitely go and enjoy the sun, sand, and food. Tourism workers in the U.S. and the Caribbean will thank you.
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