As ChikV continues to ravage the nation, I continue to wonder how it will affect the tourism industry. As far as the local economy goes, we already know that an astounding 13 million hours of work have been lost, 60 per cent of staff at businesses have been affected and staff at 81 companies surveyed were absent for an average of four days each. In total, the government estimates that up to 60 per cent of the population will be affected. This is just within the nation’s borders.
What about how the tourism industry will be impacted once news of this outbreak reaches the tourist markets? It has already made the pages of a Canadian national newspaper: More than 200 Canadians infected by mosquito-borne chikungunya virus. What about the U.S.? Will people be scared off? (On Oct. 21, the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention put out a travel advisory for the Caribbean, as did Canada). There are murmurs around that the Jamaican government has suppressed communication about this virus in order to preserve the tourist season. Of course, we cannot confirm this, and a counterargument is that it is common knowledge that dengue is present in Jamaica and this doesn’t seem to affect the tourism industry. However, this is a relatively “new” and unknown virus, so the impact and the perception could be damaging.
Today we receive some good news about the cruise ship industry to date, from January to September, that does not show it has been harmed. According to the Port Authority of Jamaica in an interview with the Observer, there has been a 10 per cent increase in arrivals to reach 916,300 people.
Interestingly, on the same day (as Tweeted by fellow blogger Emma), CNN ranked the “Hottest Places to Visit This Winter” and Jamaica did not figure among them. However, three nearby islands did: Dominican Republic, St. Kitts and Nevis and Barbados (they all showed exponential increases in bookings.) I’m sure ChikV does not yet have anything to do with these figures, but it will be interesting to see the impact next year. Let’s hope it is not too detrimental.
Jamaican Journal 
You have conformation. In September, Minister Ferguson said the likely impact on tourism affected how cases were reported. See Nationwideradio website for a sound bite.
Chik v is a regional problem, and that’s being noted in the North American press, including that cases are there, too, already. Like dengue, chik v is not a major killer, and many tourists will come ready to use repellents.
I think crime scared tourists more, yet murders were reported as they occurred.
It’s the tropics and diseases are seen as part of the landscape.