Hoteliers fear tourism decline from the US due to mandatory quarantine
The newly installed United States Government has said that one of its priorities is to fight the coronavirus pandemic. Now all travelers arriving from another country will have to undergo mandatory quarantine.
This measure, if effective, would affect the flow of American tourists to the Dominican Republic, considered the president of the National Association of Hotels and Restaurants (Asonahores), Rafael Blanco.
Blanco explained that this has not yet been confirmed but is in the process of internal evaluation by the United States Government.
Local measures
The president of Asonahores stressed that the Dominican Republic is ready to begin the COVID-19 test to arriving Americans, as announced by the Tourism Cabinet headed by the Minister of Tourism, David Collado.
Collado indicated that the test will be covered by the Dominican Government in order to continue promoting the recovery of the tourism sector. That is why the greater emphasis is placed on travelers who come from the United States because this country is the main source of tourists.
What Biden Said
Biden pledged to step up measures to deal with the pandemic, which has left thousands of deaths in the US and one of them is to subject travelers who enter his territory to mandatory quarantine.
“Those who travel to the United States from another country should undergo a test before getting on the plane and perform a quarantine when they arrive,” said the president.
Biden explained that this measure is due to the new strains of the virus detected in other countries, at a time when in the United States there are more than 400,000 deaths from the pandemic, a figure that exceeds the number of American soldiers who died during World War II.
The North American president also affirmed that he is going to make sure that scientists and experts can work free from “any political interference and that they can make their decisions based strictly on science” to face the challenges of the new coronavirus.
The airports
The airport authorities are working on the final logistics preparations to be applied at national airports in response to the requirements of several countries that require a negative result of COVID-19 for the entry of their citizens or foreign visitors.
The director of the Airport Department (DA), Víctor Pichardo, held meetings with the Ministry of Public Health, the Specialized Corps of Airport Security and Civil Aviation (CESAC), and representatives of the country’s airports, to define the logistics to apply in the air terminals.
“We are about to launch an initiative designed through the Tourism Cabinet, especially to respond to countries that have required the different COVID-19 tests to enter their territories, such as PCR and antigen,” said Pichardo, in a meeting held at the Public Health headquarters.
Tourists will have access to Covid-19 tests through hotels, covered by the insurance Travel Assistance Plan, other passengers must go to the airport with their results, made 72 hours before, and present them to the airline at the time of check-out.
Likewise, all passengers are encouraged to previously investigate the type of test required by the destination country, whether it is PCR or antigen.
Pichardo pointed out that the meeting strengthens the processes that its management implements from the beginning in the different airports of the Dominican Republic, for which he thanked the Ministry of Health, CESAC, and the airport representatives for their collaboration and integration so that the sector operate optimally.