Barbados Drops Testing For Vaccinated Visitors

Effective Wednesday, May 25, fully-vaccinated travellers to Barbados will no longer have to take a COVID-19 test to enter the country. Unvaccinated travellers will still be required to present a negative COVID-19 test.

In a press conference over the weekend, Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley advised said the change comes as over 70% of the eligible population in Barbados is fully vaccinated. She added that removing the entry test will have positive implications for the country’s tourism experience, including speedier processing times at Grantley Adams International Airport.

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The Prime Minister noted that the tourism industry is in recovery. “We had a ninety percent decline in the number of visitors… in the last two years. [Now] we are significantly on our way back up.”

With the removal of the entry test, Barbados says it will remain competitive in the global tourism landscape, and tourism officials are confident the decision will be well received by travellers in key source markets as they plan summer and winter travel.

“What this signals to our travellers is that it is safe for them to come to Barbados, and we are in a position where we can comfortably accommodate many of the same measures they are experiencing at home, such as the protocols for mask wearing and testing for certain activities,” said Lisa Cummins, Minister of Tourism and International Transport.

The change in protocols also states that masks will now only be mandatory indoors and on public transportation. Outdoors, masks are optional.