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Resilience through Tourism Summit Endorses the Global Centre for Tourism Resilience and Crisis Management

Release Date: 
Wednesday, August 8, 2018 - 17:30

KINGSTON, Jamaica; June 29, 2018:  Jamaica’s Tourism Minister, the Hon. Edmund Bartlett announced the unveiling of The Global Centre for Tourism Resilience and Crisis Management during the Resilience for Tourism Summit in Amman, Jordan this week to astounding endorsement from the international tourism community.

The conference brought together key stakeholders from the private and public sectors to discuss strategies for recovery and developing resilience, brand management for sustainable growth and effective communications. The conference highlighted the theory and practice of winning strategies that have resulted in resilience.

Minister Bartlett announced the creation of the Centre during the panel discussion, the ABC's of Resilience. Other participants of the panel included Dr Lee Miles, Professor of Crisis & Disaster Management at Bournemouth University, Isabel Hill, Director of the National Travel and Tourism Office at the United States Department of Commerce and Deepak Raj Joshi, Chief Executive Officer at the Nepal Tourism Board.

Isabel Hill, director of the National Travel and Tourism Office at the US Department of Commerce, commented during the panel: “Resilience is one of the most important things to talk about in travel and tourism. There are issues we deal with that can be a matter of life and death.”

Minister Bartlett added: “The Global Centre for Tourism Resilience and Crisis Management will ensure that we can continue to benefit from the economic, social, cultural, and historic value that tourism has to offer.”

The panel focused on resilience as a “rubber ball” factor, the ability to recover from whatever adverse occurs. Understanding resilience in the context of travel and tourism is imperative to sustainable positive growth as well as building confidence in travellers.

Minister Bartlett was invited to participate in a special press conference during the Summit to further elaborate on the Centre and its mission to carry out policy-relevant research and analysis on destination preparedness, management and recovery from disruptions or crises that impact tourism and threaten economies and livelihoods globally..

Global figures in attendance of the Resilience for Tourism Summit included tourism ministers and officials, crisis management companies, insurers, hotel development corporations, destinations, NGOs, governments, academics, and media. Lending the support and endorsements of the event are leading global associations such as USAID, UNWTO, WTTC, PATA, Tourism Cares, USTOA and CLIA.

The Global Centre for Tourism Resilience and Crisis Management, which will be located at the University of the West Indies, Mona Campus, is expected to be operational in September, with an official launch scheduled for January 2019, during the Caribbean Travel Marketplace at the Montego Bay Convention Centre.