The Legal Impacts of COVID-19 in the Travel, Tourism and Hospitality Industry

from closing down are legal services). Moreover, while most people are staying at home, the truth is that many are not. Several questions have arisen, including the right of the police to enforce a quarantine – which they have tried to do –, but against which lawyers have pushed back, with no little success. Although T&T has been boasting that its infection rate is low, the truth is that there has been limited testing going on; although the reported number of deaths in the country is at eight persons, the testing is just a little over 1,100 persons, and the infection rate is allegedly just over 500. Again, these figures are unreliable. 4. Going Forward It is clear that the virus has devastated the Caribbean Region. According to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), global GDP growth, in 2019, was at +2.9%, but now, in 2020, it is projected to be at -3.0%. While most countries in the Region did well in 2019, the average drop in the Region for 2020, according to the IMF, will be around -9.0%. When one takes into account that the Region is heavily dependent on tourism (shopkeepers, taxi drivers, hotels, restaurants, beach workers), it does not take much to figure out that the economic damage is going to be huge. Besides, even though the Courts are effectively closed-down for now (only emergency cases such as domestic violence, habeas corpus, custody matters, etc.), the truth is that any contracts entered into before the effective shutting down of the country will be extended appropriately after the shut down is lifted. In other words, the virus will not, and ought not, affect any contractual arrangements made prior to the public health emergency. 5. Conclusion Trinidad & Tobago is fortunate in that although tourism is of utmost importance to the economy – especially in Tobago –, the country is an oil and gas exporter. The bad news is that with the slump in the world’s economy, the oil and gas prices have correspondingly gone down. Both in Trinidad and in Tobago, there are a plethora of reputable car rental agencies, as well as taxis, that cater to the tourism sector; indeed, many taxi drivers know more about what is happening in town and the best and safest places to go than most business people and politicians. Both islands also have fairly good restaurants, which are at an international standard, and although the service can sometimes be a bit "spotty", it is generally quite good in both islands. Local cuisine is available and, again, the local taxi driver is probably the best person to ask as to where to go and what to have.