Business View Caribbean | October 2020

6 BUSINESS VIEW CARIBBEAN OCTOBER 2020 searches, respectively. Most Latin America countries are in or about to reach their peak of the pandemic, however these nations create and update measures and protocols to invite travelers by offering a safer experience. For example, Dominican Republic launched the Safe Tourism Assistance Plan, an initiative of The Ministry of Tourism in alliance with the Banco de Reservas and Seguros Reserva in order to reactive tourism. It includes free travel insurance for tourists to give them medical coverage from September 15 to December 31 in case they contract COVID-19. Another one is Jamaica, which established four traveler categories for non-residents visiting the country with tourism purposes staying within the “resilient corridor”. It means that the visitors need to do a pre-testing requirement especially those from high risk locations. How have travelers’ preferences changed? Expedia Group collected information from 30,000 travelers in 13 countries to better understand the factors that influence decision- making, particularly around value, cleanliness, and the interactions that matter most to them. Most of the travelers surveyed – 73% – report a change in travel preferences in reaction to COVID-19. The most notable global shifts include nearly a third taking more domestic trips, one-fifth traveling more by car and one- fifth enjoying more relaxing beach vacations. The research also shows preferences vary across the globe: • Travelers in Mexico are heading to the beach. The increased desire for a relaxing beach vacation is highest among Mexican travelers (63%) • German travelers intend to take more international trips (18%) than people globally (12%) • Solo travel is on the rise in France. The desire to travel alone has skyrocketed in France (25%) compared with the average increase globally (12%) The most notable global shifts include nearly a third taking more domestic trips, one-fifth traveling more by car and one- fifth enjoying more relaxing beach vacations