Cruise ship visitors and tourists may soon begin to return to Dominica when the borders are fully open to them. This was revealed by PM Roosevelt Skerrit who stated that the government will be meeting again with tourism stakeholders to discuss the opening of borders to cruise ships.
According to Skerrit, the Minister of Tourism had met earlier with representatives of the cruise lines to discuss their return to the island. The cruise ships expressed their earnest desire to return to the country, and the government must meet with them again as well as with other relevant stakeholders to fine-tune the protocols for their return.
“The cruise ships have indicated that they want to come back, we are having discussions with them and I believe that if we can find a very safe way of allowing cruise to come back we should allow it,” Skerrit said. “There will be a subsequent meeting this week to see if we can further the discussion.”
The prime minister said the general public will be kept informed as things progress, but added that the national borders cannot be locked indefinitely since the country needs to generate revenue to remain operational. “Obviously, as we always said, the safety and health of our people is paramount, but at the same time we have to pay our bills,” he stated.
The Prime Minister said the government will meet with DHTA and DAIC officials to review the protocols under which the cruise ships are to return to Dominica, and that the government will also review the recommendations of CARPHA over the return of cruise ships. He said it is the duty of the government to protect citizens and also protect tourists and visitors from the risks of coronavirus even though the government must still generate revenue for the economy.
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