Credit: Booking.com

Boy, we are not popular with the global tourism industry right now.

So, we’ve got some good news, bad news. Good news: the Bahamas are taking tourists again! It’s a beautiful, sunny summer destination full of awesome resorts and fantastic beaches. Bad news: if you’re from the US, you ain’t allowed in.

Hubert Minnis, Prime Minister of the Bahamas, announced yesterday that the country is closing its borders to all American tourists due primarily to the heavy concentration of COVID-19 cases surging through the US. All flights to and from the US on the country’s main airline, Bahamasair, have been indefinitely grounded. Private and chartered flights are still allowed, and you can also take a boat in.

“Regrettably, the situation here at home has already deteriorated since we began the reopening of our domestic economy,” Minnis said. “It has deteriorated at an exponential rate since we reopened our international borders.”

Credit: Caribbean Journal

Travelers from the EU, the UK, and Canada are still permitted to enter the country, though everyone who does so will be required to provide a negative COVID-19 test no more than 10 days old. If you enter the country and can’t produce a clear test, you’ll be required to quarantine for the standard two weeks.

It’s a shame; the islands rely very heavily on American tourism. In fact, before the pandemic took off, the Bahamas actually broke a travel record with 1.45 million visits from the US alone in 2019. For now, though, it’s likely going to be a while before they can reach those numbers again.