Last year the Jamaica Observer spoke with Prudence Gentles, a 28-year-old tour guide who recently gave birth to a son with special needs, about the challenges of her job. The Montego Bay-based tourism worker explained that due to the seasonality of the industry it is important for guides to save their earnings in the high season for use during more austere times in the low season. She also revealed that the extent to which guides prepare for the lean periods varies with each individual.

However, with Jamaica now currently shutting down due to the threat of COVID-19 and with hotels closing as the tourism industry becomes virtually non-existent on a global scale, the already sometimes-precarious financial situation of tour guides in the country will be tested to the limit.

“Some of us can probably survive financially for a month,” Gentles explained. “Some of us, probably three months. But some of us can’t even go a week without working.”

The COVID-19 outbreak has hit Jamaica on the tail end of tourism’s high season, the most lucrative time of the year in the industry. If tourism workers have been prudent they will be entering the shutdown with some savings but those who have a lot of expenses, mouths to feed and other challenges will have much cause for concern.

Minister of Tourism Edmund Bartlett has reported that the Government is working on fiscal arrangements to protect individuals and companies in the tourism sector. They will include cash flow support through different measures to organisations as well as individuals who are no longer employed. Loans are also being arranged for companies and grants are being prepared for vulnerable individuals.

Tour guides will be especially anxious to know the details of these plans and how they address this category of workers specifically because many of them are hired on a per job basis and do not enjoy full-time employment.

In the meantime, like the rest of Jamaica, they are now at home taking the personal precautions necessary to protect themselves from the virus.

Gentles was asked about their level of anxiety about the disease especially considering that they have been working in a high-risk environment coming into contact with travellers from around the world. She explained that tour guides have been far from complacent.

“From the first case that was confirmed in Italy many of us had to take precautions,” she revealed. “We didn’t touch certain surfaces. For those of us that wiped down the tour bus doors and handles, we had a set seat that we sat in. We didn’t shake the guests’ hands anymore. We no longer hugged or kissed them. Sometimes some of them like to give you a little peck on the cheek in appreciation. We cut that out.”

“Also when we collected tips many of us started to put them in a separate place, sanitised our hands whenever we couldn’t wash them and some of us actually made alcohol wipes using the regular pack of wipes,” she added, “When we came home we would shower and disinfect our clothes immediately.”

Gentles explained that a lot of these measures started as early as January and that “some companies came to us and said this is what is going on and this is what we need to do to protect ourselves”.

“Many of us as tour guides knew this day was coming,” she said regarding their preparedness.

Gentles is preoccupied for the industry over the coming months. A lot will depend not just on how quickly Jamaica can recover from the current situation, but how quickly the United States of America is able to deal with the virus within its own shores.

She feels that even if the island is able to recover quickly within a few months it won’t help the industry if Americans are unable to travel for most of the remaining year.

“The high tourism season was basically coming to an end so we were banking on Americans who usually travel in the slow season,” the young tour guide pointed out.

Nevertheless, Gentles is keeping a positive attitude despite the challenges and is philosophical about the current state of affairs and what needs to be done.

“It’s a difficult time for us but it is better to be safe than sorry,” she concluded.