Bartlett upbeat about crisis centre

Tourism Minister Edmund Bartlett is confident that the Global Tourism Resilience and Crisis Management Centre (GTRCMC), once launched today, will help member countries to deal with crises, disasters and disruptions such as climate-related issues in their economies.

The GTRCMC, which is the first of its kind globally, will assist with preparedness, management and recovery from disruptions and/or crises that impact tourism and threaten sector-dependent economies and livelihoods.

Bartlett, who is co-chair of the GTRCMC, and his team, spent last year meeting with sector leaders on all continents as he sought their input and expertise in the setting up of this long-overdue centre. It will be housed at the University of the West Indies, Mona campus, St Andrew, and comprise worldwide affiliates such as the Mediterranean Tourism from Malta, Pacific Tourism Authority in Bangkok, the Tourism International Conference of Mauritius, and the Crisis Management and Resilience Council in London.

Prime Minister Andrew Holness, last year, gave his endorsement to the centre saying: “The ultimate goal of the resilience and crisis-management centre will be to assist destination preparedness, management and recovery from disruptions and/or crises that threaten (tourism-dependent) economies and livelihoods globally with real-time data and effective communication.’ He is also honorary co-chair of the centre.

Under the chairmanship of Dr Taleb Rifai, former secretary general of the United Nations World Tourism Organization, the GTRCMC will also receive expertise and leadership from some of the world’s leading universities, including George Washington in the USA, University of Bournemouth in the UK and Queensland University in Australia.

Bartlett said the UWI headquarters will also be supported by the Ministry’s Knowledge/Linkages Network which is now a part of the policy direction of the tourism sector and which will assist players to understand best practices of Jamaica’s tourism product,

“Going forward we will host think-tanks and seminars and do studies on the vulnerabilities that affect the global tourism product. Through our ‘Global Resilience Barometer’, we will better understand the level of resilience among our member countries as it relates to global disruptions,” Bartlett said.