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Governments and tourism officials in Jamaica and the Bahamas are pushing back against claims by the US State Department that the island nations are unsafe for tourists due to rampant crime and poor access to health services.
Last month, the U.S. State Department issued a new travel advisory urging sun and sand seekers to stay away from two of the Caribbean's most popular beach destinations.
“Violent crimes such as home invasions, armed robberies, sexual assaults, and murders are common. Sexual assaults are common, including at all-inclusive resorts,” the government agency said in a Level 3 advisory for Jamaica. , which is just one level below the most severe warning for Americans to travel.
The State Department added: “Violence and shootings occur regularly in many regions, communities and parishes in Jamaica.”
Officials consider the Bahamas a moderately low-risk destination under the Level 2 advisory, with “gang-on-gang violence” confined to specific cities and neighborhoods and “primarily affecting local populations.” ” points out.
And the U.S. Embassy in Nassau issued a safety alert warning travelers that “murders occur at all hours, including on the streets in broad daylight.” The embassy reported 18 murders since the start of 2024.
Although alarming, this notification does not increase the threat level between the two countries.The State Department has listed Jamaica as a Level 3 destination starting in 2022, and the Level 2 advisory for the Bahamas has been in place for many years..
But they come at the start of the season in both tourism-dependent countries, when winter-weary Americans seek to escape the cold with warm turquoise waters and white sand beaches. As a result, government officials from both countries are trying to ease travel tensions.
“[T]The majority of the island's tourism product remains unaffected, as this is a very well-defined area within Jamaica and the advisory states there is a high risk of crime. “Overall, the crime rate against visitors to Jamaica remains extremely low at 0.01%,” the Jamaica Tourism Board told NPR in a statement.
The board added: “The island consistently ranks among the top international travel destinations and will welcome 4.1 million tourists in 2023, approximately 3 million of whom will be from the United States. ” he added. Visitors can continue to enjoy all that Jamaica has to offer with confidence. ”
Jamaican police have reported 83 murders between January 1st and February 3rd this year. This is a significant decrease from 2024, when there were a total of 109 murders during the same period.
Still, U.S. officials said the murder rate remains “among the highest in the Western Hemisphere.”
Bahamian Prime Minister Philip Davis also responded to the travel advisory to his country, stressing that his government is “vigilant, vigilant and proactive in ensuring that the Bahamas remains a safe and welcoming destination.”
Davis also pointed out that many tourist destinations share the same Level 2 designation.
“The incidents listed in the January 2024 U.S. Embassy Crime Alert reflect the general security of the Bahamas and many other islands, including 16 tourist destinations,” he said in a Jan. 29 statement. It's not a thing,” he added.
But less than a week later, on February 4, two American women were drugged and sexually assaulted by two staff members at Freeport's Pirate Cove Zipline and Water Park. Announced.
The women, a mother who said it was her first vacation without children, were on a Carnival cruise ship. They disembarked on the final day and spent time at a resort, where they drank drinks that were believed to be laced with drugs.
In an interview with Good morning, AmericaHe said he quickly lost consciousness, woke up intermittently, and eventually remembered enough to recognize that he had been assaulted by two resort staff members. Both had bruises on their legs and said they had tested positive for various drugs.
Source: NPR.
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