Leaders have said that the Virgin Islands is “open for business,” but countries including Canada, Germany and the Netherlands are still warning their citizens to avoid nonessential travel here after Hurricane Irma devastated the territory’s infrastructure.
Other countries, including the United States and United Kingdom, have posted milder warnings or rescinded previous ones.
“It is a national effort in terms of the recovery process when it comes to getting off of these lists.”
According to the Canadian government’s Travel Advice and Advisories webpage, “The storms have caused significant damage to buildings and infrastructures [in the VI]. Transportation routes, power and telecommunications systems have been heavily damaged, and, in some areas, destroyed. Emergency and medical care, and water and food delivery, have also been severely affected. Do not travel to or through the affected regions.”
The Dutch government posted a similar statement on its Nederland Wereldwijd site, warning, “Travel only if it is necessary to the British Virgin Islands. Follow the advice of the local authorities.”
Likewise, the German foreign office’s travel advisory site notes that the recent hurricanes “have caused severe damage” to the VI and several nearby islands.
“The infrastructure and the power supply … is partly still deficient; cleanup work is still [needed] there,” the site adds. “Travellers are asked to inquire about the current situation with the tour operator or the hotels on site before starting a trip.”
Health concerns
On Oct. 17, the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office removed the warning it issued shortly after Irma.
“We no longer advise against all but essential travel to the territory,” the site read, noting that food and water, air transportation, and security situations have stabilised.
Meanwhile, Australia made no mention of this territory but advised citizens to “reconsider their need to travel” to the USVI and Puerto Rico due to “major damage to buildings and infrastructure.”
In France, warnings about the VI and other countries mainly concerned health risks from contaminated water that could cause diarrhoea and vomiting, and noted that “an increase in diseases transmissible by mosquitoes is also to be feared.”
The French warning was based on a “Rapid Risk Assessment” conducted shortly after Irma by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control. That assessment stated that “prevention of gastrointestinal illnesses is dependent on adequate sanitation, availability of safe drinking water (chlorinated or boiled) and appropriate food hygiene — i.e. regularly washing hands with soap, eating thoroughly cooked food, washing fruits and vegetables with bottled or chlorinated water and avoiding consumption of raw seafood products.”
The US Department of State made no mention of the VI in its warnings. However, the US Centers for Disease Control rated the territory, along with 15 other hurricane-affected destinations, a Level Two, meaning travellers should “practise enhanced precautions” to avoid illness.
Getting off the lists
Mr. Dawson agreed that health remains an issue in the territory.
“There are still issues of vector control, sanitary conditions concerning water, and so forth,” he said. “These are things we should look at. With the level of devastation that the VI endured, though, it’s to be expected.”
Asked about the timeline for getting the territory off these lists, Mr. Dawson replied, “It’s really up to them. They’re the ones issuing warnings for the safety of their citizens in particular.”
In addressing why some countries have issued warnings and some haven’t, he said, “Sometimes it’s a special caution. Maybe something happened with a British or Canadian visitor, to make them say, ‘Stay away from this region.’”
Asked what he would tell a tourist from one of these countries who was considering travel to the territory, he responded, “It would be up to that person. Advisories don’t stop people from traveling to a country, but of course persons can heed that advice and may not travel.”
Mr. Dawson added that the BVITB routinely requests updates from various subsectors of the tourism industry and channels the information to global agencies.
“We hope to get off these lists, but we will understand that we will be on until these governments have confidence that they can lift these advisories,” he said.
This article originally appeared in the Nov. 30, 2017 print edition.
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