Caribbean Public Health Agency launches Traveller's Health App as Caribbean reopens to tourists

The app provides up to date information on all the reopening measures of each Caribbean Island, as well as safe places to stay and other guidance.

October 26th, 2020 - The Caribbean Public Health Agency, CARPHA, has announced its intention to aid the restart tourism to the Caribbean islands with the release of its innovative Traveller’s Health Program (THP). The THP is intended to provide an early monitoring and response system to public health issues which are currently impacting on tourism.

The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted tourism in the Caribbean and continues to pose ongoing public health threats. CARPHA has developed the Caribbean Traveller's Health Mobile App and a Travellers Health Assurance Stamp in an effort to reassure visitors and tourists as well as mitigate the impact of COVID-19 and other public health threats to both residents.

To ensure a united and harmonised approach to these COVID-19 measures, CARPHA has partnered with the Caribbean Tourism Organisation (CTO), Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association (CHTA) and the Global Tourism Resilience and Crisis Management Center (GTRCMC) to form the COVID-19 Tourism Task Force.

The Proactive COVID-19 Health Measures include an early warning and response travel/tourism information system to capture illnesses in real time and thereby reduce spread and reputational damage as well as certified training in COVID-19 health measures for the hospitality sector, guidelines and checklist and hospitality health safety and environmental operational standards. 

The app will also provide a list of hotels, accommodations and other hospitality facilities within a destination that have been awarded the Caribbean Travellers Health Assurance stamp. From next year the list will include ferries and other passenger ships which have been awarded the stamp.

The Caribbean’s Travellers Health Assurance Stamp for Healthier Safer Tourism (HST) is a recognition award for tourism entities and destinations which are implementing the recommended proactive COVID-19 health monitoring and safety measures. Caribbean travellers now have measurable and verifiable health assurances for accommodations (hotels, guesthouses)  and services (transport, tour operators) which have been awarded the CARPHA-CTO-CHTA-HST Stamp.

Hospitality facilities awarded the HST Stamp will be listed as a preferred safer option on the Caribbean Traveller's Health Mobile App and later will be listed on CARPHA, CTO and CHTA websites, with links to regional and international health and tourism stakeholders.

The Caribbean Travellers Health App and Health Assurance Stamp will be launched on November 5th. The app is available through the Apple App Store and Google Play.

The Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA) is a single regional public health agency encompassing the whole of the Caribbean. Established in 2011 by an Inter-Governmental Agreement signed by Caribbean Community Member States it began operations in January 2013.

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Karl is a senior contributor at TravelIndustryReporter.com and knows the European travel industry inside out. Karl is a freelance travel writer specialising in the European market. Karl studied at both Stockholm University and Reading University.

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