PM Holness, President of Malta accept Honorary Chairmanship to Global Resilience Centre

Prime Minister Andrew Holness and Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca, President of Malta, have accepted the role of honorary chairmanship to the Global Tourism Resilience and Crisis Management Centre.

The announcement follows Tourism Minister Edmund Bartlett’s recent meeting with Coleiro Preca, who is the patron of the Mediterranean Tourism Foundation, to discuss the country’s possible participation and collaboration in the centre.

“We recognise that the time for partnership in resilience building is now given the increase in global disruptions such as hurricanes, earthquakes and cybercrimes and I am pleased that Jamaica as a thought leader is the driver of this initiative.

"This acceptance highlights the partnership between two vulnerable states which will allow for deeper dialogue on building more resilient and sustainable tourism in both countries," Bartlett said.

The Centre, which will be housed at the University of the West Indies, Mona, is being designed to help vulnerable states across the world to recover quickly from natural disasters.

It will specifically target destination preparedness, management and recovery from disruptions and/or crises that threaten economies and livelihoods globally with real-time data and effective communication. 

Bartlett added that, “It is a great honour for me to have the leaders of these countries, our own Prime Minister and President of Malta, be a part of this groundbreaking Resilience Centre. This is what smart tourism is about, which will help us to make data-driven decisions. We are committed to adapt to global changes and as such build capacity to respond and recover even better in the event of any global disruptions.”

The Centre will also house a Sustainable Tourism Observatory which will assist with preparedness, management and recovery from disruptions.

It will also support policymakers and businesses develop better strategies to support a more competitive global tourism sector.

The official launch of the Centre is scheduled for January 2019 during the Caribbean Travel Marketplace, which will be held at the Montego Bay Convention Centre in St James.

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