In Martinique, Covid-19 or not, the tourism sector has decided to live its two months of vacation to the full. The unmissable events of this period such as the traditional Round Yoles Tour return after two years on stand-by due to the health crisis. Event organizers are sharing their flyers en masse, cultural outings are multiplying and artists are filling their diary with appointments. Some hotels in the south of Martinique are already full for the period from July to August, while we are in the low tourist season from mid-June to November.
“Tourism has fully resumed for a few months now. We have feedback from our partners who clearly see an increase in their activities,” explains Bénédicte Di Geronimo, president of the Martinican Tourism Committee. For the sector to have the wind in its sails, not only during summer holidays but also throughout the year, the strategy has been to forge partnerships with the organizers of national nautical events. The boats of the Transat Jacques Fabre thus arrived in the bay of Fort-de-France last November.
Falling incidence rate
The summer holidays therefore promise to be lively with many gatherings at festivals while the Covid-19 is still actively circulating in the territory. The week of June 27 to July 3, Martinique recorded 3,998 new cases of Covid-19. The trend is down compared to previous weeks when 8,000 cases of Covid-19 were detected per week. The latest known incidence rate is 1,114 per 100,000 inhabitants, well above the threshold not to be exceeded.
During this long holiday period, the Regional Health Agency and the prefecture simply encourage the population to respect barrier gestures, to be tested and to be vaccinated. Remember that on the island, just under half of the population is vaccinated.