NEGRIL, Westmoreland — Michael Grandison, general manager of Veraclub Negril, one of the resorts in the western end of the island hardest hit by the pandemic COVID-19, has called for greater levels of collaboration between the Government and the hotel industry with a view to averting the looming demise of the sector.

“There needs to be a lot more dialogue between the hotel sector and the Government so that the industry can be preserved because I think this [COVID-19] is going to be very disruptive for the industry, and there is no indication as to whether the business will come back to normal in the near future,” Grandison argued.

He stressed that disruptions in the airline and cruise shipping industry are already having a negative impact on the island’s tourism sector.

“I believe that the cruise ships will not come back to its former glory for another year. So, the situation looks extremely bleak from what I am gathering from an international perspective. It is going to take a lot of government aid to keep the business going until it can rebound,” Grandison told the Jamaica Observer West.

Already, Veraclub Negril, which gets the bulk of its bookings from Italy, has been feeling the pinch from a decision by the Government to place a travel restriction on that European country, forcing the 57-room hotel to close its doors just over two weeks ago.

The temporary closure has resulted in 64 of the 76 employees being sent home.

Additionally, the hotel has seen losses from the cancellation of bookings amounting to 2,542 bed/nights, totalling over US$200,000 for the period February 28 to March 31, alone.

Veraclub Negril is a part of the multinational corporation Veraclub which has some 40 clubs across the world.

Grandison, who is also the general manager for Merrils, another hotel in Negril, said Veraclub in Italy was hoping to resume their operations to Jamaica by the first week of April.

“They were trying to resume their operations to Jamaica, but then, it got much bleaker as the situation in Italy got a bit worse as it has been hit by the virus, and now under a shutdown,” he noted.

Italian officials have reported that up to March 17, the country has recorded 31,506 confirmed cases of COVID-19, and 2, 941 deaths resulting from the disease.

Veraclub director, Collette Grandison, noted, “Once travelling is not permitted from Italy, we won’t be seeing a reopening any time soon and we may have to possibly diversify and wheel and come again.”

“The club has been doing well over the years since 2015, but this [outbreak of coronavirus] is just unfortunate and there’s not much that we can do but to ride with the tide for now, and hope for the best,” expressed the director.

Since the pandemic several other hotels in the resort town of Negril have been shuttered due to a lack of business, while the few that remain open have significantly reduced their workforce.

And RIU Negril, which employs over 300 workers, announced earlier this week that as of today, the hotel will be closed.

Meanwhile, addressing a Montego Bay business community meeting with Health and Wellness Minister Dr Christopher Tufton last Friday, President of the Jamaica Hotel and Tourist Association Omar Robinson expressed optimism that despite the expected fallout in the sector from the impact of COVID-19, the sector is expected to “ride out the storm”.