As of November 3, 2020, twenty-five Caribbean countries have reopened their borders to travelers and have implemented COVID-19 travel protocols to protect travelers and citizens. Each Caribbean country has different regulations on COVID-19 and, as a travel resource provider, we inform our clients of the existing rules and travel restrictions. One of the best resources that I found was the COVID Controls website. This website allows you to see the current status of each country’s COVID-19 regulations and real-time stats on COVID-19 in each country.
A direct result of the COVID-19 pandemic has been a change in the U.S. travelers’ behavior. As noted in a recent report conducted by Squaremouth, European countries were the top destination for U.S. travelers before the pandemic began. Now, U.S. travelers have targeted many Caribbean countries to visit this travel season. One nation, in particular, has seen a dramatic increase in U.S. travelers. Turks and Caicos has seen a 303% increase in the number of travelers from the United States, as reported by Squaremouth. The report also noted that, for the first time, Turks and Caicos is the fastest-growing international destination, making it the fifth most popular destination overall—up from 60th in 2019.
To mitigate the adverse effects of COVID-19, the Turks and Caicos Islands Tourism Board (TCI) implemented travel authorization requirements to enter the country. As part of their travel authorization requirements, “all travelers must ensure adequate insurance coverage for quarantine and any COVID-19 eventualities; given the new requirements by the Center for Disease Control (CDC), this should last for at least two weeks following departure date.”
Another popular destination for U.S. travelers is Costa Rica. This beautiful country with coasts on the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea is world-renowned for adventure tourism and eco-tourism and has also implemented strict travel regulations for travelers from abroad to enter the country.
Costa Rica has implemented the following requirements for visitors abroad to comply with, before entering the country:
- Fill out the electronic epidemiological health pass form before departure.
- For international insurance policies, tourists must request a certification from their insurance company, issued in English or Spanish, verifying at least the following three conditions:
- Validity of the policy during the dates of the visit in Costa Rica.
- Guarantee of coverage for medical expenses in cases of pandemic disease COVID-19 in Costa Rica, for at least US $50,000.
- Minimum coverage of US $2,000 for extended lodging expenses due to pandemic illness or trip interruption/cancellation due to illness, which covers the extra cost of the passenger due to quarantine.
We at Trawick International are proud to say that we were among the first travel insurance providers to meet the insurance regulations of the Costa Rican government by modifying our Safe Travels Voyager plan to comply with their new travel insurance coverage regulations for U.S. Residents. As of January 28, 2021, we have enhanced our Safe Travels International Plan and Safe Travels International Cost Saver Plan to allow non-U.S. residents to comply with Costa Rica’s travel insurance coverage regulations. Also, we are an approved TCI Travel Insurance Provider.
Bailey Foster serves as VP of Trip Insurance for Trawick International. She is responsible for overseeing the Trawick International Trip Cancellation product. Ms. Foster has nearly 20 years of insurance experience, with a proven track record of escalating responsibility. Bailey has developed a strong knowledge of insurance ethics and business practices related to the travel industry. Her experience enables her to provide proactive account management, training, consulting and support. To become a Trawick International partner, call 888-301-9289 or email info@trawickinternational.com.