Tourism Ministry to Host 2nd Tourism Resilience Summit of the Americas

KINGSTON, Jamaica; October 04, 2019: Tourism Minister, Hon. Edmund Bartlett has announced that his Ministry will be hosting the Second Tourism Resilience Summit of the Americas, under the theme “Building Tourism Resilience for Sustainable Development’. The event, which is open to the public, is scheduled to take place on October 9 and 10, at The University of the West Indies’ Regional Headquarters.

Under the theme, ‘Tourism Resilience for Sustainable Development’, the 2nd Tourism Resilience Summit of the Americas will examine and further explore the experience, best practices, and lessons learnt from tourism climatic resilience initiatives around the world.

More specifically, the objectives of the summit will be to examine and highlight the lessons learnt from tourism climatic resilience initiatives; examine emerging issues surrounding tourism climatic resilience and sustainable development.

“I anticipate fruitful discussions on capacity building and effective responses to such global disruptions, including tools for effective recovery, rehabilitation and reconstruction. It is the goal that destinations should not only rebound but also continue to thrive on a path towards development post disruptions,” said the Minister.

The issues to be examined at the two-day international summit will include Corporate Social Responsibility; Leadership; Collaboration and Partnerships; Risk Management Solutions; Legal and Regulatory Frameworks; Communications and the Media; Crisis Management; Tools and Systems; Capacity Building; Research and Development; The Use of Digital Technologies and the Sargassum Threat.

Executive Director of the Global Tourism Resilience and Crisis Management Centre, which is spearheading the event, Professor Lloyd Waller, also highlighted that “the Resilience Summit of the Americas will be a game changer in terms of the exchange of ideas on resilience and resilience building.”

Speakers for the event include: Former UNWTO Secretary General, Dr Taleb Rifai; Professor the Hon. Ambassador Richard Bernal; UNESCO Co-Chair in Island Studies and Sustainability & MAIS Program Coordinator, Professor James Randall; CDEMA’s Executive Director, Mr Ronald Jackson and Ingenuity Technologies CEO, Melarka Williams.

Other speakers are Jacobs Media Group’s Daniela Wagner; Founding Director, Global Resilience Institute, Dr. Stephen Flynn; Jamaica Chamber of Commerce Montego Bay President, Janet Silvera; Professor Donna Hope; Finn Partner’s Gail Mooney and CEO Omie AR, Omar Itum.

It is expected that the papers and report from the summit will help to shape policy and strategic frameworks globally, specifically as it relates to enhancing the resilience of worldwide destinations.

“These presentations and other expected outcomes of the summit will contribute to policy formulation and the development of strategic frameworks, specifically as it relates to building resilience of tourism destinations worldwide.  I look forward to the upcoming publication of the ‘Journal of Tourism Resilience’ which will include some of the papers from this meeting,” said the Minister.