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Bartlett to Establish Satellite Tourism Resilience Centre in Nepal

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Jamaica Tourism Minister, Hon. Edmund Bartlett, has announced that the Global Tourism Resilience and Crisis Management Centre (GTRCMC) will, on January 1, 2020, conclude discussions for a Memorandum of Understanding to establish a Satellite Centre in Nepal.

Minister Bartlett will leave the island on Sunday, December 29, 2019, for Nepal to conclude those discussions on the establishment of the Centre. The announcement for the Satellite Centre began during the Global Resilience Summit in London last month, when Minister of Tourism for Nepal, His Excellency Yogesh Bhattarai, invited Minister Bartlett to Nepal.

Minister Bartlett’s visit is significant as it will coincide with the country’s campaign “Return of Nepal” that marks their recovery from a powerful ‘rainstorm’ that swept across two districts of southern Nepal killing at least 28 and injuring more than 1,100 people last year.

“My visit is timely as it speaks to the very essence of what the GTRCMC is all about – recovering from disruptions. What we are also seeing is an international confluence as it relates to the GTRCMC and this speaks to the need for resilience building in the tourism industry.

“Like other Satellite Centres, this one in Nepal will focus on regional issues and will share information in Nano time with the Global Tourism Resilience and Crisis Management Centre. They will then function as think tanks to develop possible solutions,” said Minister Bartlett.

Most recently, a Satellite Centre was established in Kenya and the GTRCMC will be establishing Satellite Centres in Seychelles, South Africa, Nigeria and Morocco to expand its reach within the continent.

Each Minister has the responsibility of identifying a university in their respective countries, to collaborate with the University of the West Indies and by extension the Global Tourism Resilience and Crisis Management Centre.

“We are in an age where tourism is still susceptible to many global disruptions that span climatic events like hurricanes, terrorism and cybercrime. Many countries are heavily dependent on tourism, especially the Caribbean, and as such we must safeguard its future by building resilience. This is why the GTRCMC and Satellite Centres are critical to the industry at this time,” added Minister Bartlett.

The Global Tourism Resilience and Crisis Management Centre, 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.

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 Minister is expected to return from Nepal on Sunday, January 5, 2020.

MEDIA CONTACT: Jamaica Ministry of Tourism, Corporate Communications, 64 Knutsford Boulevard, Kingston 5, Tel: 920-4926-30, Fax: 920-4944

Statement from the Global Tourism Resilience and Crisis Management Centre on the Passage of Super-Typhoon Hagibis

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The recent passage of Typhoon Hagibis last week was a stark reminder of the urgent need for resilient societies effectively prepared to confront historic storms and extreme weather events.

The consequent loss of over 70 lives and disruption to daily activities with over 5,000 persons in shelters; 230,000 evacuees ahead of the storm; over 9,960 homes flooded, thousands of homes without electricity and water; and cancellation of World Rugby Cup 2019 matches highlight a few of the focus areas for immediate action in crafting resilience policies – energy, water, housing, transportation, health and sports tourism.

Jamaica Tourism Minister, Hon. Edmund Bartlett, says the Global Tourism Resilience and Crisis Management Centre (GTRCM), stands ready to advance on discussions to establish a satellite center of the GTRCM in Japan as both countries have a wealth of expertise, good practices and experiences in effectively managing the aftermath of natural disasters.

In a letter to the Tourism Minister of Japan, Hon. Keiichi Ishii, the Co-Chairman of the Global Tourism Resilience and Crisis Management Centre, Hon. Edmund Bartlett says, “I express deepest sympathies with you, the people and Government of Japan following the passage of super typhoon Hagibis which has claimed more than 70 lives and caused widespread destruction in its wake.”

The trajectory and intensity of Typhoon Hagibis caused record rainfall in Tokyo with severe flooding as more than twenty rivers in the central and northeastern Japan had burst their banks. The repeated historic records of these natural disasters demand that resilience discussions and efforts be innovative and forward thinking to brace against nature’s exponential increase in intensity and impact.

The establishment of satellite centers in countries such as Japan which have a track record of effectively responding to and recovering from natural disasters and other disruptions to sustainable development will enhance the growing body of research and innovative solutions to “build back better”.

The Global Tourism Resilience and Crisis Management Centre, launched earlier this year, was established to  assist global tourism destinations with destination preparedness, management and recovery from disruptions and/or crises that impact tourism and threaten economies and livelihoods globally, include climate and seismic events.

For more information on Jamaica, click here.

MEDIA CONTACT: Jamaica Ministry of Tourism, Corporate Communications, 64 Knutsford Boulevard, Kingston 5, Tel: 920-4926-30, Fax: 920-4944

Jamaica Global Resilience Centre to open in October

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Jamaica Tourism Minister, Hon. Edmund Bartlett, says the Global Tourism Resilience and Crisis Management Centre is scheduled to open by the first week in October at a newly refurbished J$27 million facility housed at the University of the West Indies, Mona.

“We have our first conference scheduled for the first week in October of this year, so we would like to bring the Board members from all over the world to come and to see the Centre functional and operational, whilst we are hosting the event,” said Minister Bartlett.

The overall goal of the Centre will be to assess (research/monitor), plan-for, forecast, mitigate, and manage risks related to tourism resilience and crisis management. This will be achieved through five objectives – Research and Development, Advocacy and Communication, Programme/Project Design and Management, as well as Training and Capacity Building.

It will specifically be tasked with creating, producing and generating toolkits, guidelines and policies to assist with preparatory and recovery efforts of tourism stakeholders affected by climatic, pandemic, cyber-crime and cyber-terrorism related disruptions.

Speaking yesterday at a site visit of the facility, the Minister said, “We are grateful to the University for allowing us the use of the space and more so to enable us to make it the kind of facility that we can be happy to welcome the world to participate here in great things and other kinds of cerebral activities. This partnership will give Jamaica, the Caribbean and the world a new opportunity to understand global disruptions.”

The Centre is focusing on four key deliverables that at this time. One is the establishment of an academic journal, which will be a compendium of scholarly publications, on various elements of the five segments of disruptions. The editorial board has been established, headed by Professor Lee Miles of Bournemouth University, with the assistance of George Washington University.

The other deliverables include: a compendium of best practices/ a blueprint for resilience; a resilience barometer to measure the resilience in countries and provide benchmarks to guide countries; and to establish an academic chair at the University of West Indies for innovation and resilience.

 “UWI will completely refurbish the Centre, which will include a well-appointed conference room, which will enable us to have the video conference technology needed to have virtual meetings to connect a number of board members who operate in different parts of the world.  It will include an office for the chairman and two other offices for deputy directors as well as the executive director, who I am very pleased to share is Prof Lloyd Waller from the UWI.

The Global Tourism Resilience and Crisis Management Centre will be staffed by local, regional and internationally recognized experts and professionals, in the fields of:  climate management, project management, tourism management, tourism risk management, tourism crisis management, communication management, tourism marketing and branding as well as monitoring and evaluation.

It will also provide research fellowship opportunities for individuals seeking to either expand their knowledge or, gain experience in tourism resilience and crisis management, through postdoctoral research, and internships for undergraduate and graduate students in fields of study related to tourism resilience and crisis management.

“We know that the presence of the first ever Global Tourism Resilience and Crisis Management Centre at the Mona campus is going to begin a whole new process of engagement in the Caribbean, in terms of global tourism activities here. We see this as a big part of the thought leadership and role that the Caribbean is now playing in global tourism.

“We are excited about the future of tourism, the opportunities for more research, the greater appreciation of how to manage disruptions and how to identify and track these disruptions. Then, the most important factor is the recovery process,” said the Minister. 

For more information, contact:

Corporate Communications

Ministry of Tourism

64 Knutsford Boulevard

Kingston 5

Tel: (876) 920-4926-30

Fax: (876) 906 1729

Bartlett hosts successful community meeting with Jamaican Diaspora in the UK

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Jamaica Tourism Minister, Hon. Edmund Bartlett says his recent meeting with key members of the Jamaican Diaspora in London was very successful.

Speaking at a community meeting, held at the Jamaican High Commission in London, United Kingdom, yesterday, Minister Bartlett spoke of the importance and impact of the UK and global diaspora on the economy of Jamaica. He also commented that nobody can promote and advocate for Jamaica better than Jamaicans living around the world.

With visitor figures for January – March 2019 already outperforming the previous period in 2018 by 13 per cent, Minister Bartlett updated the diaspora community on the island’s key tourism developments for the year ahead including 10,000 additional rooms by the end of 2020.

He also highlighted the new graduate school for hospitality management and tourism and the wider upskilling programs and qualification opportunities for Jamaicans on the island, to continue to grow the direct economic benefits for the workers of the tourism industry first hand.

“Making up 10 per cent of all arrivals into Jamaica each year, and with one in five workers in the Caribbean employed by tourism, it’s important that we do not underestimate its penetration because if we do, we will lose sight of the fact that almost everyone in Jamaica has their being and sustenance connected to tourism.

Working closely with our diaspora communities around the world is vital to promoting our unique tourism message and we value them as advocates and ambassadors hugely,” said Minister Bartlett.

Minister Bartlett also talked in detail about the importance of the recently launched Global Tourism Resilience and Crisis Management Centre in Jamaica. A first of its kind, the Centre offers a global tourism resource dedicated to research and analysis on destination preparedness, management and recovery from disruptions or crises around the world which is being pioneered at the University of the West Indies.

Minister Bartlett, who represented Prime Minister, the Most Honourable Andrew Holness at the Caribbean Council’s House of Lords Annual reception in London, returned to the island today.

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Bartlett welcomes Tourism Graduate School for 2020

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Jamaica Tourism Minister, Hon Edmund Bartlett has welcomed the establishment of a Graduate School of Tourism by 2020, which will be based at the University of the West Indies’ Western Campus.

“This project has been a vision of mine for many years and to see this vision now become a reality under the leadership of Professor Dale Webber, Principal of the University of the West Indies augurs well for tourism and our human capital development strategy.

The graduate school of tourism will be an ideal complement for the training and certification that is already being done through our Jamaica Centre for Tourism Innovation which is the institute we established for professionalizing the industry so workers can have their competencies recognized through certification” said Minister Bartlett.

The Jamaica Centre for Tourism Innovation’s (JCTI’s) focus is on certifying workers in the sector to the highest level, which means that they will be able to go anywhere in the world and match their qualifications with the best there is.

To date, JCTI has certified in excess of 600 persons. They include Certified Hospitality Educators to deliver the AHLEI programs; Certified Hospitality Supervisors; tutors for the ACF certification programs; over 22 chefs, including Executive Chefs, Sous Chefs, Culinarians and Pastry Culinarians.

The announcement was made at the University of the West Indies’ Western Campus official ground breaking. The University of the West Indies (UWI) offers world class, accredited higher education programs to Jamaica, the region and the globe.

The new site, which will be located at Barnett Oval in Montego Bay, aligns with the University’s commitment to increase participation in tertiary and higher education whilst strengthening their partnership opportunities with stakeholders in Western Jamaica.

Principal of the UWI, Professor Dale Webber, in welcoming the new graduate school of tourism said, “What separates the U.W.I from other Universities is our graduate studies and research so we see the Global Resilience and Crisis Management Centre, which is currently housed at our Mona campus, as part of the School of Tourism portfolio.
Now we have a new vehicle at this Western Jamaica campus Barnett site to establish the school and offer tourism at a higher level with Masters and Phd programs.

“This is a monumental step towards a total reimaging of tourism, where we will be able to have workers trained and certified at the highest levels. With this higher level of training and certification, they will be able to not only meet the demands of an ever-changing global industry but will be able to demand more in terms of jobs and compensation,” added Minister Bartlett.

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