Jamaican Tourism Minister Edmund Bartlett will launch the first World Tourism Resilience Day at Expo 2020 in Dubai.
The minister is also co-chair of the idea of him, the World Center for Tourism Resilience and Crisis Management (GTRCMC), which will organize the event.
As Dubai prepares for Jamaica Day on February 17, it will also kick-off World Tourism Resilience Day.
The travel industry is, and always has been, fragmented, with 90% of the companies involved being SMEs and studies show that most are unprepared to respond to crises.
Therefore, destinations need to be at the forefront and the GTRCMC is seriously addressing this concern.
By launching an annual tribute to resilience and designating a day as a day, the center emphasizes the need for the travel industry to focus on preparedness, crisis management, recovery, and continued resilience.
In addition to the start of the day, the center partnered with the World Council for Travel & Tourism Resilience (GTTRC) and the International Tourism Investment Corporation (ITIC) to offer an in-depth forum on resilience.
“The aim will be to enable countries to increase their ability to respond to international shocks and to predict their responses with greater certainty.
“It will also help countries understand and mitigate the impact of these shocks on their development, but more importantly, it will help them cope and recover quickly later,” Bartlett said.
The global tourism industry is widely described as “resilient” as cumulative evidence of experience suggests that the sector has recovered quickly from a crisis.
However, Secretary Bartlett said: “Over the past two years, the pandemic has tested the alleged resilience of this sector more than any other turbulent event in modern history.
“This forced all destinations, regardless of size, location and characteristics, into survival mode.”
“Then it just came to our attention. The industry can never be surprised again.
“Instead, a methodological, collaborative, and institutional approach to resilience is urgently needed. Destinations need the skills and knowledge to anticipate, prepare for, respond, manage and learn from any turbulent event to ensure they are prepared for the next event, “he said.
Minister Bartlett said the theme of this first World Tourism Resilience Day forum will pave the way for recovery through resilience and investment and highlight indigenous and indisputable links between resilience and regeneration.
“In this regard, Dubai Expo 2020 provides an ideal place to showcase our work and build global partnerships with key decision-makers who pursue our mission of guiding global, regional, and national tourism stakeholders,” said the co-president and member of GTRCMC. of the Resilience Council, Taleb. Rifai added.
The exhibition has just passed 11 million visitors and 108 countries are represented in the individual pavilions.
Global and regional speakers will provide key information on resilient investing.
Speakers such as Andrew Holness, Prime Minister of Jamaica, Uhuru Kenyatta, President of Kenya, and Spanish Tourism Minister Reyes Morato will present case studies.
Also present are Jordanian Minister of Tourism Nayef Al Fayez, Adam Stewart, Executive President of Sandals Resorts International, Julia Simpson, Executive Director of the World Travel & Tourism Council, and Liz Orteguera, Executive Director of the Pacific Asia Travel Association, as, among many others.
The event will take place at the DP Pavilion in Dubai and will start at 1 pm local time and finish at 7 pm.
