Empty chairs at empty Caribbean tables as Covid-19 ruins vital tourism industry
There are few places where the economic effect of the pandemic may be as immediate as the Caribbean’s 26 small island states
21 April 2020 - 13:05
Varadero, Cuba/Kingston, Jamaica — No-one is swimming in the turquoise Caribbean waters of Cuba's Varadero beach resort, nor lounging on its white, palm-fringed beaches. Its hundreds of hotels, shops and restaurants stand empty and eerily quiet.
The nearby airport, the lifeblood of Varadero’s economy, closed after Cuba shut its borders two weeks ago to protect against the spread of the new coronavirus. Now, undisturbed by tourists, lizards scamper around the grounds of the luxurious hotels, on the hunt...
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