Could coronavirus travel restrictions impact Myrtle Beach’s needed J-1 summer workers?
While Myrtle Beach-area businesses brace for the potential immediate impacts of coronavirus-related closures, international travel restrictions could severely impact the availability of needed summer workers.
More than 3,000 international students come to the Grand Strand area each summer, beginning to arrive in May, to work under the U.S. Department of State’s J-1 visa program, but about a quarter of those students typically come from countries with active Centers for Disease Control and Prevention travel restrictions, according to local 2017 figures.
Stephen Greene, president and CEO of the Myrtle Beach Area Hospitality Association, has said those students are very important to add to the local workforce during the heavy tourism months, particularly with the low unemployment rates in the region prior to the coronavirus.
The state department’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs has temporarily paused its programs involving travel to and from countries with heightened CDC travel advisories for 60 days, as of March 12, with plans to review that decision every 30 days, according to the department’s website.
The bureau is strongly recommending sponsors of the J-1 visa exchange programs to follow the same steps, though consular officers at embassy offices overseas ultimately determine whether to issue J-1 visas to applicants to enter the United States, according to a state department spokesperson.
Most of the sponsor organizations have no COVID-19 guidance on their websites and haven’t responded to emails from The Sun News seeking information, while others have short statements online stating that they’re monitoring the situation but haven’t made any decisions.
The Council for International Educational Exchange and Cultural Homestay International, both cited by the Myrtle Beach Area Hospitality Association as prominent sponsors locally, have already suspended Chinese students from participation in the summer work program.
Alex Ibanescu, a Cultural Homestay International representative, said they hope to be able to transfer visas that would have gone to Chinese students to students from other countries, but they’re unsure if that will be possible, pending further government instructions.
Mark Lazarus, owner and operator of Myrtle Waves water park and Myrtle Beach Grand Prix, said his businesses typically hire about 100 J-1 students each summer, so if the program is restricted, he’d have to cut back operating hours.
“I wish I could say I’ll just hire more locals,” he said, but noted that there aren’t enough local applicants for full summer staffing levels.
Lazarus said he’s hopeful the students he hires will still be able to come because they typically don’t come until June and are mostly from Jamaica, which doesn’t have any active travel restrictions.
While the outbreak may impact the summer workforce, local officials anticipate minimal impact on the amount of visitors to the Grand Strand.
“While Myrtle Beach holds global appeal, the majority of our visitors are domestic travelers, primarily driving to the area,” Karen Riordan, president and CEO of Myrtle Beach Area Chamber of Commerce, said in a statement.
According to the chamber’s tracking data, less than 2 percent of the area’s visitors during the third quarter of 2019 were from outside the U.S., and 80-90 percent of international guests annually are from Canada.
