Adina Eigen made her first trip to the British Virgin Islands in December 2020. At the time she had one of the lowest Covid rates in the world among the islands that had reopened.
The 42-year-old mother of 42 from Sands Point, New York, has since returned twice, checking infection rates and vaccination statistics before her travels.
“Oil Nut Bay staff are completely vaccinated,” he said of the luxury resort where his family stayed. “The property is not accessible by land and is heavily guarded by sea.”
The British Virgin Islands are part of a growing number of Caribbean destinations that attract vaccinated travelers, although they are less attractive to unvaccinated people.
Travelers to the British Virgin Islands
| Vaccinated | Partially vaccinated | Without vaccination | |
|---|---|---|---|
| June 2021 | 78% | 6% | 16% |
| July 2021 | 88% | 2% | 10% |
| BVI Central Statistics Office |
Along with Barbados and St. Lucia, the British Virgin Islands allow unvaccinated travelers to enter only if they are quarantined for a week. The data show that few are willing to do so, especially when they have other options in the Caribbean that do not require quarantines or vaccine certificates.
The relative rigidity or clemency of entry requirements into the Caribbean is transforming travel trends in the region. Unvaccinated travelers are gravitating toward islands that will allow them to enter, while vaccinated ones want places that keep out the immunized.
Vaccinated travelers only
At least seven Caribbean nations and territories have announced mandatory vaccination policies for incoming adult travelers: Anguilla, Granada, St. Barts, St. Kitts and Nevis, Trinidad and Tobago, Turks and Caicos, as well as the Cayman Islands.
The Cayman Islands plans to admit vaccinated travelers from Sept. 9 to Oct. 13 during the third phase of its structured reopening. Subsequently, the territory can let in unvaccinated travelers if they are quarantined for 14 days.
People are more interested in traveling to islands where there are vaccination protocols.
Eric Bamberger
Zeta Global
Security is cited as the main reason for the requirement, but these policies can also be good for businesses.
Eric Bamberger, senior vice president of hospitality at Zeta Global, said marketing technology company Zeta Global analyzed traffic to major multi-island tourism websites after announcing exclusively vaccinated policies.
After the announcements, everyone’s interest in traveling increased:
- Granada: 25% increase
- Saint Kitts and Nevis: 26% more
- Cayman Islands: 44% increase
- Anguilla: up 59%
The data show two emerging trends in the Caribbean, Bamberger said.
“People have more interest in traveling to islands where there are vaccination protocols,” he said. “And their interest among other islands without vaccination protocols is waning.”
Data from travel marketing company Adara indicates enthusiasm for vaccinated entry-only policies. Searches and bookings increased when Trinidad and Tobago announced that it was only open to vaccinated travelers and, again, when the policy was implemented.
Adventure travel company Intrepid Travel sees it preferring destinations with more restrictions, said Matt Bern, the company’s CEO in North America.
“We have found that our customers are more interested in traveling to Caribbean destinations with stricter and firmer travel policies and restrictions related to Covid-19,” he said.
For example, among the most popular trips Americans book, “none of our tours in Mexico are in the top 20,” he said. Mexico has lenient Covid protocols, but Intrepid Travel does not. As of Sept. 1, all of the company’s travelers and tour leaders must be vaccinated, Bern said.
Eigen told CNBC that he considered going to Mexico at some point, but found it “terrifying” to visit a country with few restrictions.
“I’m vaccinated and I’d like to go to an island that only allows vaccinated people to come in,” he said, according to an opinion echoed by several travelers who spoke to CNBC.
“I’m vaccinated and I would love to go to an island that only allows vaccinated people to come in,” said Eigen, with his family in Oil Nut Bay, British Virgin Islands.
Courtesy of Adina Eigen
The Caribbean authorities are expressing a positive response to the policies.
“Our arrivals figures have been steady and load factors continue to improve,” said Petra Roach, director general of the Grenada Tourism Authority.
Turks and Caicos prepared to get negative comments when it announced its policy earlier this month, said Jamell R. Robinson, the islands’ Minister of Health and Human Services.
However, “we have received a hugely encouraging overall response from new and existing visitors,” he said. “We anticipate that it will have a positive long-term impact on reserves.”
No vaccine needed
Unlike islands with relatively strict policies, places like the Dominican Republic, Jamaica, the Bahamas, and the U.S. Virgin Islands have entry policies that are based on testing rather than vaccines.
Adara’s data suggests travel interest was highest in the Dominican Republic before other Caribbean islands launched vaccination mandates earlier this summer. Most travelers to the Dominican Republic do not need to present any negative evidence, but some are subject to Covid-19 breath tests on arrival.
As vaccination rates increased among the island’s major markets, i.e., the United States and Canada, interest in travel decreased. Covid infection rates in the Dominican Republic declined from June to August, but interest and searches did not recover accordingly.
Site traffic increased to major Jamaica and Bahamas tourism websites in June and July, but visitors spent less time searching and clicking fewer pages, Zeta Global’s Bamberger said.
Vaccinated people want to vacation in places that had stricter requirements, so they don’t mix with the unvaccinated.
“These trends show that … travelers still have more tentative feelings about traveling to areas without vaccination policies,” he said.
Similar feelings may apply to travelers ’desire to fly. A study by the financial website FinanceBuzz published this month indicates that there are likely to be more people flying (48%) if airlines require vaccinations, than the amount who disapproves of this policy (27%).
Line in the sand
These figures suggest that islands with indulgent protocols (i.e., those that do not have quarantines or vaccination mandates) are likely to attract unvaccinated travelers while deterring vaccinated people.
“Vaccinated people want vacations in places that had stricter requirements, so they don’t mix with the unvaccinated,” said Adara’s director of marketing, Carolyn Corda.
CNBC asked the Dominican Republic, the Bahamas and Jamaica for the percentage of travelers who were not vaccinated. The Bahamas said they could not provide that figure. Jamaica and the Dominican Republic did not respond to CNBC’s request.
Puerto Rico’s tourism authority, Discover Puerto Rico, has said the island has a vaccine warrant, though it does not.
The Discover Puerto Rico website says “vaccinations need to be done” for guests and employees of its hotels, house rentals, restaurants and bars. Find out that the Puerto Rican CEO separately confirmed the “mandate” of the vaccine to CNBC.
But a closer look at Puerto Rico’s restrictions shows that a negative Covid test on arrival and negative weekly tests afterwards will suffice without a vaccine. When clarifications were requested, a Discover Puerto Rico representative told CNBC that “the” mandate “refers to the need for vaccination or frequent negative tests.”
Puerto Rico CEO Brad Dean finds out that vaccination rates among travelers to Puerto Rico rose from 9% in May to 58% in August.