Curacao will open its borders to residents of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut beginning the first week of November, the first international visitors allowed into the country since the Dutch Caribbean nation closed its borders to U.S. visitors in July due to the COVID-19 outbreak.
Beginning next month, the Curacao Tourist Board (CTB) will require visitors from the three East Coast states to present proof of a negative COVID-19 PCR test result taken within 72 hours of traveling and complete a Digital Immigration Card prior to travel.
Travelers will be required to submit their negative test result data to CTB's online portal and fill out a Passenger Locator Card within 48 hours of their departure. Residents of the three states will also be required to present valid state-issued identification.
United Airlines will resume weekly nonstop flights to Curacao from Newark Liberty International Airport on Nov. 7, CTB officials said. JetBlue will offer twice-weekly flights to Curacao from New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport beginning Dec. 9.
CTB is working in collaboration with "the Ministry of Public Health, the Environment & Nature, as well as the Ministry of Economic Development (to) define low- and medium-risk markets based on the latest figures and statistics from each territory," said officials in a statement.
"After consulting with the scientific community and an esteemed panel of doctors both in The Netherlands and on the island, we made the decision to slowly reopen Curacao's tourism industry to the U.S." said Paul Pennicook, CTB's CEO.
Pennicook said "a multitude of factors" were considered regarding Curacao's reopening to U.S. visitors including "current (COVID-19) cases, airlift and impact on the local economy, among others."
Curacao has implemented health and safety protocols that include personnel training, social distancing and new hygiene and sanitation practices and guidelines. Curacao's public health office utilizes a monitoring system that includes personalized phone calls to all incoming visitors during their stay in the country.
CTB also launched a "Dushi Stay" mobile app that provides travelers with access to entry requirements, island protocols, emergency contact numbers and health tips, plus open restaurants, attractions and beaches.
"We will continue to closely monitor developments throughout the rest of the U.S.," Pennicook said. Curacao has recorded "double digit growth from the U.S. market over the last couple of years," he added, and "we look forward to the opening of other gateway cities as soon as conditions allow."
