January 17, 2023
Preparations are now in high gear to host the highly anticipated and historic Global Tourism Resilience Conference in Jamaica from February 15-17, 2023. The conference, which will focus on building resilience and capacity building for tourism globally, is expected to feature approximately 40 international speakers from Africa, Asia, Europe, America and the Caribbean.
“As we exit the COVID19 pandemic, tourism resilience has become the epicentre of national development priorities. This is against the backdrop that tourism remains very vulnerable to disruptions like the pandemic. The staging of this conference, which is already in high gear, is therefore relevant and critical to ensuring that the industry will be able to not only recover but thrive afterwards from these disruptions,” said Minister of Tourism, Hon Edmund Bartlett.
Photo caption: Minister of Tourism, Hon Edmund Bartlett (C) shares a moment with some of the members of the planning committee for the Global Tourism Resilience Conference (l-r) Mrs. Carolyn McDonald-Riley, Director of the Tourism Linkages Network; Dr. Carey Wallace, Executive Director of the Tourism Enhancement Fund; Jennifer Griffith, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Tourism; David Dobson, Chief Technical Director in the Ministry of Tourism; Donovan White, Director of Tourism and Omar Robinson, Head of the Knowledge Network of the Tourism Linkages Network.
The conference is being driven by the Global Tourism Resilience and Crisis Management Centre which is headquartered at the University of the West Indies, Kingston. Some of the areas of focus will include enhancing competitiveness and sustainability; cross-sectorial collaborations; international funding and technical assistance; the establishment of resilience barometers; enhanced research; the adaptation of science, technology and innovation; niche market development; human capacity-building; and small business support, among other areas.
“Although we cannot prevent these natural disasters, nor equally the devastating global disruptions that impact our region, we can and must come together as one Caribbean to strengthen our response and resilience when these types of events occur. The tourism resilience conference presents a timely opportunity for us all as governments and policy stakeholders to collaboratively discuss issues that are central to the development of policies that will reduce our vulnerability,” said Chairman of the Caribbean Tourism Organization and Minister of Tourism and Transport for the Cayman Islands, Hon Kenneth Bryan.
A snapshot of some of the global partners who participated in the official launch of the Global Tourism Resilience Conference slated for February 15-17, 2023, in Kingston Jamaica.
“We fully endorse the Global Tourism Resilience Conference and the move to establish a global resilience day. The tourism sector lived through the most challenging two plus years faced with a once in a lifetime pandemic and is in advanced stages of recovery, confirming the resilience of the industry. However, we must future proof this industry and reimagine our tourism master plans taking into consideration infrastructure, the impact of climate change, human and capital development needs, use of technology to ensure our ability to handle current and future headwinds,” said president of the Caribbean Hotel and Tourist Association, Mrs. Nicola Madden-Grieg.
A major expected outcome of the conference will be the commemoration of the Global Resilience Day on February 17. It is anticipated that the day will be recognized annually and be used globally as a time to focus on resilience building and strategies to improve resilience in tourism.
To register for the conference, you can visit https://cts2023.eventbrite.co.uk
“The future of tourism is in the hands of today’s partners and stakeholders, so the time is to act is now. This conference will be a game changer on the road to a more resilient global tourism industry,” added Minister Bartlett.