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Sandals Foundation and Hasbro Spread Holiday Cheer to Caribbean Children

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More than 10,000 children experienced a little more joy this holiday season with brand-new toys and games donated by the Sandals Foundation in their annual Christmas Toy Drive.

As the non-profit arm of Sandals Resorts and Beaches Resorts, the Sandals Foundation’s Annual Holiday Toy Drive has been a staple calendar event for more than 10 years through the generous donation from valued partner, Hasbro, Inc.  Iconic toys of the global play and entertainment company include Nerf, Magic: The Gathering, My Little Pony, and Transformers.

Additionally, support for the annual Toy Drive also comes from Sandals and Beaches Resorts’ team members, visiting guests, and travel industry partners.

While the customary parties were not be held, this year’s region-wide approach galvanized the logistical support of the Salvation Army, police force, schools, and local community groups to carefully distribute more than 10,800 toys to children across the Caribbean – all while bearing in mind the health and safety protocols of the respective countries.

Heidi Clarke, Executive Director at the Sandals Foundation, explained that in light of the challenges experienced this year, it was critical to maintain a semblance of normalcy, particularly during the holidays.

“Christmas is a magical time for children and this year should be no different. Because it has been such a tough time for families across the Caribbean, it was even more important for us to do what we could to help bring joy and, of course, a sense of hope through the delivery of these gifts.”

“Our invaluable partners at Hasbro,” Clarke continued, “have been truly supportive of our mission, and we are pleased that we have been able to find a way to get these toys safely in the hands of some of our most deserving children.”

Shipments of toys have been delivered in the Bahamas, Jamaica, Turks and Caicos, Antigua, St. Lucia, Grenada, and Barbados.

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Hong Kong Wine & Dine Festival Concludes and Successfully Draws Global Audience of Nearly 850,000 for Online Masterclasses

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The 2020 Hong Kong Wine & Dine Festival officially concluded yesterday. It was the first time the Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB) had adopted an “online + offline” format for the event, ensuring that the public could take part without having to worry about the Covid-19 outbreak. During the five consecutive weeks it was held, the Festival had a full table of gastronomic experiences for local and international audiences.

Online Masterclasses Viewed Nearly 850,000 Times

The Online Masterclasses – a new “ingredient” of this year’s Hong Kong Wine & Dine Festival – became a go-to program at home for many people during the Covid-19 outbreak. A total of 34 classes were held over three weekends, generating almost 850,000 views. About 30% of the viewers came from the short- and long-haul markets, such as India, Taiwan, the UK, France, the U.S. and Canada.

The most popular Online Masterclasses included the “Ah Yat Fried Rice” cooking demonstration by Forum Restaurant’s Executive Chef Adam Wong; the craft beer and artisan cheese pairing class by Young Master Brewery and Monsieur CHATTÉ; and “Art of Blending: When Johnnie Walker Meets Coffee” by world-class mixologist Antonio Lai and professional coffee barista Timmy Lam.  

Though all of the live Online Masterclasses have ended, full videos are still available to view on the event website https://winedinefestival.discoverhongkong.com.

Takeaway/Delivery Menus and Dining Offers Met with Positive Response

This year’s Hong Kong Wine & Dine Festival continued to bring opportunities for wine merchants and the dining sector to promote their products and businesses. For example, the HKTB collaborated with top hotels and popular restaurants to present 30 menus for delivery or takeaway, many of which were exclusive to the Festival, including a special afternoon tea set designed by Grand Hyatt Hong Kong. The hotel’s Director of Marketing Communications, Ms. Eva Kwok said, “The limited-time-only afternoon tea set was selling better than we expected. Though Hong Kong people are eating out less these days, they are still drawn by exquisite food.”

The HKTB partnered with dining platforms and associations to roll out offers at over 500 dining outlets to stimulate the local economy, resulting in more than 10,000 reservation bookings at a time when Covid-19 was under control. “Through the HKTB’s promotional platform, many of our participating restaurants achieved more reservations than expected and reached new customer segments,” said Mr. Ryan So, Director of Business Development Greater Bay Area and Hong Kong of Dining City, one of the Festival’s partner platforms.

Continued Promotion of Hong Kong in Visitor Markets

The HKTB conducted promotions in the visitor source markets with a focus on enhancing Hong Kong’s image as a culinary capital. It arranged a series of online wine-and-dine activities for nearly 100 journalists from the long- and short-haul markets, such as previews of the Online Masterclasses, a virtual dining culture guided tour, and interviews and interaction with well-known Hong Kong chefs and wine critics. Even though the international media could not be in Hong Kong physically, they were still able to learn about the city’s food culture and get the latest news about its dining scene.

Hong Kong celebrity chef Christian Yang led an online foodie tour to promote Hong Kong’s local dining culture to overseas media.

Seychelles Makes Appearance at Virtual “WOW! Hospitality Trends Summit 2020”

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The Seychelles Islands joined African leaders in the Tourism Industry to help pave the path towards recovery at the WOW! Hospitality Trends Summit 2020 (WHTS Africa 1.0) on November 24, 2020.

Joining an interesting discussion titled “Rebranding the Continent as a hot tourism destination”, led by renowned hospitality keynote speaker, Ms. Dolores Semeraro the Seychelles Tourism Board Chief Executive, Mrs. Sherin Francis conversed alongside her counterparts from the continent namely; the Chief Executive Officer – Federated Hospitality Association of Southern Africa, Ms. Lee Zama, the Chairperson of the African Tourism Board, Mr. Cuthbert Ncube and the Chief Executive Officer of the Cape Town Tourism, Mr. Enver Duminy.

During the discussions, Mrs. Sherin Francis, shared the island destination’s experience and strategy for the recovery of its tourism industry and its contribution to restart the promotion of tourism in the region.

Mrs. Francis provided strong evidence on the important role played by stakeholders from the government and the private sector through consultation and collaboration to put the destination back on its feet.

Mrs. Francis further highlighted the commitment of the destination towards safe tourism and how fundamental it has been to the local authorities’ and local tourism industry’s recovery strategy.

The summit’s central objective was to create a roadmap to the hospitality recovery, uniting a network of hospitality leaders to tackle the challenges faced by the Hospitality and Tourism Sector brought about by these unprecedented times. The rebirth of hospitality is dependent on unity within the industry, hence the importance of these summits.

Speaking about the destination’s participation at the WOW! Hospitality Trends Summit 2020’ -Africa 2020, Mrs. Francis mentioned that aside from the exchange of knowledge and experiences to find a way forward for the industry, the event was a successful opportunity for networking, creating new partnerships for future collaborations which is essential during these times where financial resources are scarce and unity is vital.

“At a time where there are so much uncertainties with travel; collaboration with countries in the region and the continent is even more needed. The pandemic has provided to us a chance to establish these synergies and the time is now to act.  Collaboration, networking, building on each other’s strength within the region is one of the key for the much needed recovery,” said Mrs. Francis.

The Summit carries hope for the future of the industry as it displays industry leaders’ enthusiasm to unify and join forces to face the challenges ahead.

Organized by Ryen Martyn Events Private Limited, the two-day virtual event banded together over 100 hoteliers, 200 Construction professionals and Project holders as well as various honorable speakers across the African region.

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MEDIA CONTACT: STB News Bureau, Tel: +248 4 671 354 / +248 4 671 313, [email protected] 

The Seychelles Islands participates in the first virtual World Travel Market

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After 40 years of being held in London, the 41st World Travel Market stepped into the virtual world, bringing the international travel event to the doorsteps of tourism players, with the Seychelles Islands making an appearance from Monday, November 9, 2020, to Wednesday, November 11, 2020.

The Seychelles Tourism Board (STB) and several industry partners including Seychelles Hospitality & Tourism Association (SHTA), Mason’s Travel, 7° South, Creole Travel Services, and Hilton Seychelles, represented Seychelles.

The STB Team consisted of Chief Executive, Mrs. Sherin Francis; Regional Director for Europe Mrs. Bernadette Willemin; Marketing Directors Mrs. Lena Hoareau for Russia, CIS & Eastern Europe, Ms. Karen Confait for UK & Ireland, Scandinavia and Ms. Judeline Edmond for Switzerland. SHTA representatives included Mrs. Sybille Cardon, Mr. Ash Behari and Mr. Eddie D’Offay. 

The Destination Management Companies teams included Mason’s Travel represented by Sales Manager, Ms. Amy Michel; Senior Sales Executive, Sheila Banane and UK Representative, Ian Griffiths. 7° South represented by Managing Director, Mrs. Anna Butler Payette; General Manager, Mr. Andre Butler Payette and Director Marketing & Products, Ms. Corinne Delpech; and finally Creole Travel Services represented by General Manager, Mr. Eric Renard; Junior Sales and Marketing Manager, Ms. Melissa Quatre and UK Representative, Mrs. Dendy Walwyn. 

On the accommodation side, Hilton Seychelles was present and represented by Cluster Commercial Director, Mr Anthony Smith; Cluster Director of Sales, Mrs. Thabang Rapotu and Cluster Sales Manager, Ms. Serena Di Fiore.  

Speaking about the importance of Seychelles participation at WTM Virtual, Mrs. Sherin Francis emphasized on the importance of consistency in the marketing tactics.

“Tourism marketing is a continuous business. You cannot take a pause and hope to pick up several months after. The day Seychelles disappear from the scene, another destination is quick to replace you. Therefore, it is very important that even though people are not travelling that we keep the destination visible and we remain in communication with our existing partners and within reach of new potential partners. The virtual WTM has been ideal in that sense,” said the STB Chief Executive.

Over the three days, the Seychelles delegation attended live conference sessions and forums tackling some of the major issues the industry currently faces, as well as speed networking sessions, one-to-one meetings, and virtual networking opportunities.

The agenda for this year’s WTM centered around restoring and developing business connections, growing one’s network, one’s brand and learning how to make one’s comeback. The event made recognition of the travel industry’s critical state intending to aid the recovery, rebuilding and shaping of it. 

Speaking about the global event, Mrs. Willemin said, “It is important that we keep the global travel conversation alive. The delegation used this platform to tap into a wide range of online business opportunities. STB participants alone attended to over 150 meetings with professionals from different parts of the world, from Generalist Tour Operators to Island Specialists, Special interests specialized operators, Travel Designers to name some and members from the press and the media. In this new virtual space, one could also capture news, discover the latest trends, and hear the opinion from the industry’s leading executives.”

Mrs. Willemin further emphasized how the event was an opportunity to address the impact the global health pandemic has had on the travel and tourism, brief the partners on the different sanitary measures in place in the country to safely accommodate the visitors and discuss recovery plans, identify the trends and innovation shaping the future of the industry.

Despite moving to the virtual stage, the event was as successful as it had been in the previous years, attracting a large crowd of exhibitors from all corners of the world as well as international journalists seizing the chance to keep up with travel industry news and network. 

WTM London has been shaping the future of travel by facilitating the connection of people within the travel industry, bringing their global experience to local markets.

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MEDIA CONTACT: STB News Bureau, Tel: +248 4 671 354 / +248 4 671 313, [email protected] 

Jamaica Tourism Minister Addresses Pandemic in Travel and Tourism

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Jamaica Tourism Minister Bartlett, who recently received the Tourism Heroes award from the World Tourism Network, addressed this morning the Tourism Recovery discussion hosted by EU Commissioner Elena Kountoura.

Here is a transcript of his speech:

Global travel and tourism have been hardest hit by the COVID-19 pandemic. The UNWTO reported a 65% drop in international tourist arrivals in the first six months of 2020. In 2020, the global travel and tourism market is predicted to experience a loss of 121 million jobs worldwide and USD 3,435 billion in global GDP.  Evidently, the sector is facing a crisis of historic proportions with no clear timeline for a return to normalcy in sight.  The pandemic has elicited various responses from destinations globally to generally mitigate the economic fallout and prepare for recovery in the post covid19 era.  One of the foremost responses has been for tourism stakeholders to pay closer attention to their frameworks for building confidence in their destination security during this period of heightened anxiety and uncertainty.  After the initial period of border closures, which brought international tourism to a halt, many destinations, beginning in May/June, began to roll out plans for controlled reopening that generally emphasized reassuring international tourists that it was safe to visit.  This has meant a heightened focus on health and safety protocols.

In the initial reopening phase, some destinations limited the reopening of tourism  to domestic visitors and  between specific countries, through the introduction of a  “travel bubble” that allowed tourists to travel feely between two  countries which have both recorded relatively low deaths from covid-19,  before gradually opening up to international tourists.   Other destinations have developed comprehensive health and safety protocols.  In Jamaica, my ministry introduced our Tourism Industry Post Covid-19 Protocols, which were developed to ensure the safety of the workers in the industry, as well as to build confidence among travelers to adapt to “the new normal” of additional health and hygiene practices. The protocols, which are contained in an 88-page document, cover all segments of the industry including –Airports; Cruise Ports; Accommodations; Attractions; Tourism Transportation Operators; Craft Traders; Water Sports Operators; General Security and Public Safety; and Mega Events. The COVID-19 Health and Safety Protocols have been endorsed by the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC). The protocols have been globally recognized as providing leadership in tourism COVID-19 management arrangements and when fully adhered to, will make Jamaica among the most COVID-19-resilient destinations in the world. Generally, most hotel and resorts island-wide have introduced protocols to mitigate  the spread of COVID-19, including increased physical distancing, wearing of masks in public places, removal of shared or self-service items, installation of handwashing/sanitisation stations, visible cleaning taking place frequently, and more contactless/tech-based transactions.

We have also introduced the concept of resilient corridors to boost the country’s ability to manage and trace the movement of tourists along controlled corridors of the island.  We have strategically planned the reopening stages, first requiring travelers to stay on the resort grounds and now giving them freedom to visit attractions within the Resilient Corridors using transportation approved under the Tourist Board. The Resilient Corridors, which encompass the majority of the island’s tourism regions, provide the opportunity for visitors to enjoy more of the country’s unique offerings, as many coronavirus (COVID-19)-compliant attractions, located along the Corridors, are authorized for visits by the health authorities. The Resilient Corridors will play a key role as the sector continues on the path to recovery.

This crisis has also provided countries with the opportunity to untap hidden sources of resilience. Reduced international travel has forced destinations to pay closer attention to domestic markets which they have traditionally overlooked or underutilized.   My ministry recently launched a Rediscover Jamaica campaign, which is an initiative to encourage Jamaicans to take advantage of the country’s many tourism products and attractions through lower-priced staycation packages based on lower rates. The initiative has received tremendously positive reception from locals, with some hotels reporting 60-80 % reservations from locals.  As we look to the future many destinations are realizing the benefit of incentivizing local tourism to offset seasonal downturns in international tourist arrivals as well as volatility in the global tourism .

Recovery plans for the post-COVID era are also well-advanced in most countries. As devastating as the pandemic has been, it will not be permanent.  Recovery of the tourism sector will, however, not be an automatic, seamless experience. Recovery has to be carefully planned and managed to ensure the desired results. To this end, my ministry has already unveiled a  five-point plan for the recovery of the tourism sector  which includes developing robust health and safety protocols, increased training for all segments of the tourism sector, building safety and security infrastructure, and acquiring PPE and hygiene tools. This framework is based on public-private sector collaboration consisting of key stakeholders from the tourism sector, the Ministry of Tourism, and Agencies of the Ministry. It will be supported by two Working Teams – one for general tourism and another for cruise tourism – and a Secretariat. These  specially -assigned teams will  promote a realistic view of the sector’s baseline or starting position; develop scenarios for multiple versions of the future; establish the strategic posture for the sector as well as a broad direction of the journey back to growth; establish actions and strategic imperatives that will be reflected across various scenarios; and establish trigger points to tackle action, which includes a planned vision in a world that is learning to evolve rapidly.

Global responses have also paid attention to the human side of the impact of the pandemic on tourism specifically as it relates to the well-being of displaced workers and the survival of small businesses.  At the onset of the pandemic, my ministry entered discussions with commercial banks for them to provide temporary cash-flow support to businesses and consumers in affected sectors through deferral of principal payments, new lines of credit and other measures.  We have also provided fiscal stimulus for displaced workers and business through the provision of various grants and cash transfers. Also, to ensure that tourism workers are using this time to develop competencies for the post-covid19 tourism sector, since April, we have been providing 11 free online courses for tourism workers as part of the Government’s thrust to ensure the continued development of employees in the sector. The courses are offered in areas such as laundry attendant, gift room attendant, kitchen steward/porter, public area sanitation, hospitality team leader, certified banquet server, certified restaurant server, Servsafe training in food safety, certified hospitality supervisor, introduction to Spanish, and disc jock (DJ) certification. 

To further strengthen the responsiveness of the sector to the current crisis as well as future ones, the Global Tourism Resilience and Crisis Management Centre intends to establish a tool to facilitate reliable measurement of tourism-related risks  as well as to  ensure that there is a  repository of information with policy implications for international tourism. The idea of The Global Tourism Resilience Barometer (GTRB) will ensure that tourism stakeholders will have be access to a centralized  instructional and supportive tool that will help them to develop sound policies and identify mechanisms that will help to reverse  divisive and disruptive trends that are threatening the sector.  This Framework will essentially assist policy makers and stakeholders to determine the level of tourism resilience readiness across countries. Through the framework and index, stakeholders will be able to:

– Determine, through a composite score and ranking, how well a country is doing as it relates to tourism resilience.

– Identify Tourism Resilience gaps across countries and, implement corrective strategies to prepare these countries for various disruptions.

– Enable progress on global tourism resilience to be measured over time.

– Access new insights which will deepen understanding of global tourism resilience by enabling comparisons and facilitating conversations based on broader, long- term considerations rather than some of the usual insular considerations.

I am also proposing a Global Tourism Resilience Fund to equip vulnerable countries to be able to respond, manage, and to then recover and grow after disruptions.  The Fund would especially target destinations that are recognized as facing high vulnerability but have insufficient financial capacity to prepare for and recover quickly from disruption.

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MEDIA CONTACT: Jamaica Ministry of Tourism, Corporate Communications Division, 64 Knutsford Boulevard, Kingston 5, Tel: 920-4924, Fax: 906-1729