KINGSTON, Jamaica – President of the Jamaica Hotel and Tourist Association (JHTA), Clifton Reader, says that more workers in the tourism industry are indicating a willingness to take the coronavirus (COVD-19) vaccine.

Addressing an online forum on Friday , Reader said that many people who had indicated that they would not take the vaccine or were undecided, had changed their mind after several thousand workers, employers and other stakeholders in the sector received the jab during the last vaccination blitz.

An earlier survey of 3,040 tourism employees, showed that 35 per cent said they were ready to take the vaccine, 42 per cent were unsure, and 23 per cent said they would refuse the jab.  

 “We have good reason to believe that 35 per cent of the 42 per cent who were sitting on the fence are now ready to take the vaccine. Another 10 per cent of the 23 per cent are also ready,” Reader said.

He said that the Ministry of Tourism has indicated that as more vaccines become available, it will be advocating for tourism workers to be put on the priority list to be vaccinated because this would assist in the relaxation of protocols.

“The reality is that everyone’s preference would be to go to destinations that have herd immunity to lessen the risk of them (contracting) COVID-19. This is the main reason we should educate our team members to the fact that vaccination could be a catalyst in the continued growth of the tourism sector,” he noted.

To date, the industry has had no known reports of COVID-19 transmission between staff and guests in the resilient corridors established through the Tourism Product Development Company Limited.