Africa the New Tourism Frontier: Talks on Nigeria GTRCMC Satellite Centre

Jamaica Minister of Tourism and Co-Chair of the Global Tourism Resilience and Crisis Management Centre (GTRCMC), Edmund Bartlett, has announced that discussions are now underway for the establishment of a satellite center of the GTRCMC in Nigeria.             

Speaking during a meeting earlier yesterday with the new Nigerian High Commissioner to Jamaica, Maureen Tamuno, at the Minister’s New Kingston offices, Bartlett shared that: “We would like to visit Abuja in the near future to formalize the arrangements to establish the second African Satellite Centre for the Global Tourism Resilience and Crisis Management Centre (GTRCMC).” 

Bartlett added that: “In the interim we will provide all the information that is required to enable the establishment of the Centre. We have now the basis on which the infrastructure can be established, and we also have the will and the Human capital involvement. I would love for Nigeria being the first centre established in West Africa.”  

The first satellite centre of the GTRCMC was established in Kenya, at the Kenyatta University. It is a regional satellite centre, with responsibility for East Africa, and collaborates with the international GTRCMC, located at the University of the West Indies (UWI), Jamaica.  

“The Centre in Nigeria will be a good complement to the centre already established in Kenya, because they are two of the most important African countries that the world understands. Nigeria is number one – known for having the strongest economy, largest population, and you have done something exciting with Nollywood, which has left a great cultural imprint on the world,” said Minister Bartlett.  

The arrangement would see the satellite center being established at a University selected by the Nigerian government, which would collaborate with The University of the West Indies, where the GTRCMC is based. The ultimate purpose of the Centre is to assist destination preparedness, management, and recovery from disruptions and/or crises that impact tourism and threaten economies and livelihoods globally. 

The GTRCMC, which was first announced in 2017, operates in a global context that is characterized by not only new challenges, but also new opportunities for tourism in an effort to improve the tourism product as well as to ensure the sustainability of tourism globally.  

Since its initial opening, the center has broadened its reach with the establishment of satellite centers in various regions. The satellite centers will focus on regional issues and will share information in Nano time with the GTRCMC. They will then function as think tanks to develop possible solutions. 

The discussion comes on the heels of a recent visit to Kenya, where Minister Bartlett, who is also Co-Chair of the GTRCMC and Kenya’s Cabinet Secretary, Ministry of Tourism and Wildlife, and Chairman of the GTRCMC – Eastern Africa, Najib Balala signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) that will pave the way for the two centres to work together to develop policy and conduct relevant research on destination preparedness, management and recovery. The Minister and High Commissioner also discussed increasing air connectivity between Jamaica and Nigeria during their meeting.

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