Jamaica Tourism Minister Hon. Edmund Bartlett has announced that Jamaica will be hosting an international conference on Tourism Innovation Resilience and Crisis Management next year in Montego Bay.
The Minister made the announcement today during the 64th meeting of the United Nations World Tourism Organization’s (UNWTO) Regional Commission for the Americas (CAM), in Guatemala, where Jamaica was also recently elected as the chair for the biennium 2019-2021.
“We were able to have the support of the entire Commission and of course the Secretary General of the UNWTO [Zurab Pololikashvili], to host the first ever Global Tourism Innovation Resilience and Crisis Management Summit, to be held next year in Montego Bay. Jamaica will also host the 2020 meeting of the Americas,” said the Minister.
He continued by sharing that, “this effort back to back will position Jamaica, not only as the central global reference for innovation, resilience and crisis management but also will be the focus of entire Americas in terms of the deliberations of CAM.”
In 2017 Jamaica hosted the first ever Conference on Jobs and Inclusive Growth: Partnerships for Sustainable Tourism organized by the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), the Government of Jamaica, the World Bank Group and the Inter-American Development Bank, aimed to set a new collaborative framework for tourism moving towards the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
Earlier this year, Jamaica also hosted the first ever conference on Small and Medium Tourism Enterprises (SMTEs).
“We have been on this mission for a while – and are leading the path for global resilience. We have hosted successful global conferences, and of course, Jamaica provided the only and first ever, Global Centre on Tourism Resilience and Crisis Management. All these are very important Global achievements for tourism in Jamaica and emphasises thought leadership we are giving to the world of tourism,” said the Minister.
The Regional Commissions meet once a year to allow Member States to maintain contact with each other and with the UNWTO Secretariat between sessions of the bi-annual General Assembly.
While in Guatemala, the Minister and his delegation will also participate in the International Seminar on Destination Management, which is taking place under the theme ‘New Challenges, New Solutions.’
The Seminar will discuss current challenges and opportunities facing destination management at national and local levels, including the changing role of Destination Management Organizations (DMOs) and the development of smart destinations.
The Minister is accompanied by Miss Kerry Chambers, Senior Director, Policy and Monitoring who will provide technical support. The team will return to the island on May 18, 2019.
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