Photo: ©Eros Erika/123RF

By Frank Martin

The world launches a counterattack on Omicron modality in these early 2022 in which global tourism industry is included, still economically strained by “normal” Covid-19 pandemic in 2020 and 2021.

Experts do not make comparisons with the tough start of 2021 because this time there are more “weapons” in the global medical arsenals against the coronavirus, especially effective vaccines.

The two pillars of current hopes for the elimination of the global epidemic are vaccines and preliminary studies of the new modality that suggest it is “controllable” in the short term and milder in terms of consequences for patients.

But if the medical forecasts are largely positive, those for the well-being of the corporate world remain cautious.

One widely publicized criterion is that Omicron, however, will affect hotel and lodging reservations around the world during the year.

The results that alleviate pessimism is the persistence of proper protocols and official decisions in tourist destinations around the world to stay open.

A factor that contributes to a positive vision is the use of vaccines that are given to millions of people around the world.

“Vaccination is aggressive at the moment and so is the spirit of people traveling on vacation frustrated for two years,” estimated a Caribbean tour operator who answered questions from TTC.

The expert considered that the rates that currently govern the market in the Caribbean region are “appropriate to the needs of the economy and stimulate the traveler.”

The islands of the Caribbean are strongly sought for a rapid recovery despite the existence of Omicron.

The Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association (CHTA) insisted on leading positive currents from the business world and also from governments that are pursuing the same goal of opening in 2022.

However, the CHTA estimated that even the “counterattack” measures against Omicron had increased, although restrictions and unexpected travel suspensions and cancellations by travelers could not be avoided.

In these first days of the new year, a letter from the CHTA presidency continues to circulate to the CARICOM nations in which the institution requests continuous compliance with health safety protocols and the increase in vaccines.

The CHTA warned that closing the Caribbean borders and imposing travel barriers could have serious consequences for the economies of the region.

For now Omicron continues to provoke analyzes sometimes contradictory about its  sanitary and financial impact in international  tourism during 2022.