NEGRIL, Westmoreland — Hoteliers in this resort town say they have not seen bookings being cancelled at an alarming rate due to a surge in the Omicron variant of the novel coronavirus across the globe.

The new variant comes at a time when the tourism industry is experiencing its best Christmas and winter season since March 2019 when Jamaica recorded its first case of COVID-19.

“[It is] not [alarming] at this point. There have been cancellations, but we really don’t know if this could snowball into more cancellations, or if people will start to see that they can still travel despite the presence of the Omicron,” stated Ann Chen, president of the Jamaica Hotel and Tourist Association Negril chapter.

The managing director of the Boardwalk Village resort in Negril, Richard Wallace, said his entity has been impacted by cancellations. However, he noted that because of overbooking, he can fill his rooms.

“Yes, there are cancellations and they are last-minute cancellations, because even this morning I got some cancellations, but the bookings were good enough that we can say that we are having a good season, even though we had some cancellations,” said Wallace, who emphasised that, for him, the situation is not alarming.

Even though Health and Wellness Minister Dr Christopher Tufton had reported last week Wednesday that a British national who was staying at a hotel in Jamaica had tested positive for the Omicron variant on arrival back in the UK, the reasons for the cancellations are varied and have nothing to do with the possible presence of the virus in Jamaica, Chen and Wallace said.

According to Chen, people are testing positive for the virus before travelling, and others are being cautious about any form of travelling at this time.

Wallace pointed to several flight cancellations that have impacted the travel industry over the past weekend due to airline staff coming down with the virus.

In a recent report, flight tracker website FlightAware stated that more than 2,200 flights were cancelled on Monday with China and US destinations being affected the most.

Since last Friday, the commencement of the long Christmas weekend, more than 8,000 flights have been grounded.

In the US, the cancellations result from flight crews testing positive for the virus.

In the East, Hong Kong has banned airlines for two weeks following positive cases among arrivals.

Wallace, who is also president of the Negril Chamber of Commerce, said hoteliers are watching to see how forward bookings are impacted.

“I think most people who made bookings are still not ready to cancel them yet. They are still waiting to see how things turn out before they cancel,” he said, adding that there is still a demand for Jamaica as a destination.

He also said the tourism industry will be watching to see how source countries respond to the Omicron variant.

“As you know, Canada was discouraging their people from travelling. So those are the things that will affect us more than any outbreak in Jamaica because the resilient corridor is working and as hoteliers we are continuing to do what we have been doing…” argued Wallace.

Chen said hoteliers are tightening up on their protocols in the event that the Omicron variant is indeed here on the island.

“Obviously, we are still interested in protecting our staff and our guests who are in house,” she said.