Travel advisors and suppliers said that updates to U.S. State Department travel advisories citing crime in Jamaica and the Bahamas did not cause cancellations but did prompt concern and outreach from clients.
In both cases, the U.S. did not raise the level of the advisory -- Level 2 "exercise increased caution" for the Bahamas and Level 3 "reconsider travel" for Jamaica -- but called out criminal activity in both countries. In Jamaica's case, the advisory said that sexual assaults occur frequently, including at all-inclusive resorts, but did not specify any resorts at which crimes had occurred or give any details about dates or frequencies.
Pleasant Holidays and sister brand Journese said there were no cancellations or requests to revise travel dates or change destinations for trips to either country. Similarly, Ultimate Jet Vacations said that while it received an "influx of calls from travel advisors," their concerns were mostly eased once they were given context about where crimes tend to occur compared with the places tourists usually go and where resorts are.
"In a few cases, to offer additional reassurances, we involved the resorts themselves so that they could provide additional perspective on the location and proximity to the places specifically mentioned in the advisories," said David Solis, head of business development at Ultimate Jet Vacations, adding that "business is holding steady to Jamaica, the Bahamas and the Caribbean at their usual pace."
John Lovell, president of Travel Leaders Group, said last week that advisors hadn't reported any cancellations or changes. He suggested advisors and clients call resorts directly to ask if they have enhanced security, especially in Jamaica since all-inclusives were specifically identified in the travel advisory, something Lovell said he "found a little bit concerning."
Fernando Mulet, executive vice president and chief investment officer for Playa Hotels & Resorts, which manages five all-inclusive properties in Jamaica (a Hilton, two Hyatts and two Jewels), said that while the advisory could still impact bookings, safety protocols at Playa's properties there remain robust.
"We have normal operations at our resorts, and none of these issues are impacting our areas or our hotels specifically," Mulet said. "Our properties have strong protocols and their own security teams, and if you're not a guest at one of our all-inclusive resorts, you cannot access the resort."
This isn't the first time a travel advisory has caused concern in one of its markets, he said, citing the news frenzy around the 2019 tourist deaths in the Dominican Republic that prompted widespread safety concerns.
"Sometimes we see groups react sooner than individual leisure guests, but there can be cancellations from individual leisure, as well, because everyone interprets the news in a different way," Mulet said. "When this happens, because we're a regional player with hotels in other markets, we can relocate [guests] somewhere else and keep that piece of business within our portfolio."
Mulet emphasized Playa's work with local officials in all its destinations to make safety a top priority.
"We always want to make sure that the government [is] transparent about a problem and how they're dealing with it as well as communicating and managing information to make sure that everybody is educated, knows exactly what's happening and which areas are impacted," he said.
When an advisory is updated
Industry professionals say that because advisories often lack context, clients need help understanding what they mean.
"People who travel often to these locations may be more relaxed, but first-timers can really get quite upset and worried," said Jennifer Borgh, a Toronto-based romance specialist and owner of a wedding venue in Jamaica's Discovery Bay. "It's not that the travel advisories are not true, but they don't put any context with them. Most of the bad areas in Jamaica will never be [visited] by most tourists and aren't even close to the resorts."
Borgh is no stranger to handling travel advisory panic. When she used to book Mexico travel, the warnings were often more serious and frequent due to drug cartel violence in or near tourist areas.
Still, the advisories are a recurring issue, she said, as they may be updated multiple times a year and can become news even if very little about the advisory has changed.
"Most new travelers don't realize that the travel advisories are always there; it's usually just a slight update with a very scary headline," she said.
Lee Friedman, founder of Mango Tree Travel in Washington, said her clients going to both Jamaica and the Bahamas have not brought up the advisories.
"This isn't new for Jamaica," she said, adding that her clients know that the island's travel advisory level is "always up and down in some form or another and that it's often limited to Kingston and downtown Montego Bay."
However, Friedman's peers at Atlanta host agency Jetset World Travel have been getting calls about Nassau, which she attributed to it being new for a Bahamas advisory to cite crime.
Like Borgh, Friedman has found that travel advisories matter more to clients around less familiar destinations. Friedman has never had someone cancel due to an advisory but said they can impact choices. For example, she found a hotel in Nicaragua she thought would be perfect for her clients, but the country's Level 3 travel advisory made them nervous.
And although the resort was "in a gated community in a beautiful area of the country," Friedman said, no travel advisor can tell a client "you're going to absolutely, 100% be safe. You can't ever say that when anyone's traveling."
Jamie Biesiada contributed to this report.