New COVID-19 variants pose no risk to tourism

Collado said that the positivity in airports is less than 1% and below that percentage in hotels.

The Minister of Tourism, David Collado, affirmed this Wednesday that the latest variants of COVID-19 circulating in the country do not represent for the moment any risk for this sector.

However, Collado, who took the opportunity to highlight the management of the vaccination process, stated that it is the responsibility of the Government’s health cabinet to refer to the issue of the new strains of the virus.

“We have full confidence in what the Government is doing in terms of health. Positivity in airports is less than one percent, positivity in hotels is below one percent, too,” he said.

He assured that the country’s credibility and confidence are at their best moments in terms of health and sanitary safety.

On the other hand, the official indicated that the arrival of tourists to the country was reduced last February, compared to January 2021, due to the US Government’s decision to impose a quarantine on its citizens leaving its territory.

Last month the country received the visit of 167,309 passengers, a lower number than the 177,600 that arrived in January of the same year, representing a drop of 5.8%.

However, the Minister of Tourism pointed out that the sector continues its recovery trend, anticipating that this month the arrival of more than 220,000 non-resident passengers is expected, representing a growth of 35% compared to February 2021.

David Collado, who Deputy Minister Jackeline Mora accompanied, highlighted that the arrival of international flights during the first six days of March reflects a monthly growth of 22%, compared to the same period of the previous month, with a flight occupancy rate of 52%.