The first ever Global Tourism Resilience Day was launched at Expo 2020 Dubai by Jamaica’s Minister of Tourism, Edmund Bartlett, and Co-Chair of his brainchild the Global Tourism Resilience and Crisis Management Centre. As the destination marked Jamaica Day on February 17, it was also launched as Global Tourism Resilience Day.
The travel industry is and always has been fragmented, 90% are SMEs and studies show that the majority are not prepared to respond to crises. Destinations must lead. The GTRCMC is tackling that concern in a big way. By launching an annual tribute to resilience and naming a day as such the Centre is bringing the need for the travel industry to focus on preparedness, crisis management, recovery and on-going resilience to the fore. Coupled with the launch of the Day, the Centre has partnered with the Global Travel and Tourism Resilience Council and the International Tourism Investment Corp. to provide an in-depth Forum on resilience. How to prepare, plan and ensure travel entities minimize the impact of crises and thus can rebound and recover quicker. The day will stress the need to implement, not talk.
“The focus will be on the ability of countries to build capacity to respond to international shocks and to be able to predict with greater certainty their responses. It will also aid countries in understanding and mitigating the effects of these shocks on their development, but most importantly, it will help them manage and recover quickly afterwards,” Minister Bartlett explained.
The global tourism industry was generally described as ‘resilient’ because the accumulated wisdom from past experiences indicated that the sector bounced back quickly after a crisis. However, Minister Bartlett noted that, “Over the past two years, the pandemic has tested this presumed industry resilience more than any previous disruptive event in modern history. It has forced all destinations, irrespective of size, location and attributes, into survival mode.”
“It has also heightened consciousness, the industry cannot afford to be taken off-guard again. Instead, it is called upon to urgently adopt a methodological, collaborative and institutional approach towards resilience. Destinations need to build the skills and knowledge for anticipating, preparing, responding, managing and learning from all disruptive events to ensure they are ready for the next event,” he added.
The GTRCMC is thrilled to have an annual day, February 17 dedicated to resilience. We will strive to identify best practices, lessons learned and services that assist the industry in building resilience. Through the Centre and its partners there will be academic rigor to support the shared knowledge around good practices,” commented the GTRCMC Executive Director, Prof. Lloyd Waller.
Minister Bartlett shared that the theme for this inaugural Global Tourism Resilience Day forum will be “Harnessing the Path to Recovery through Resilience and Investment” and will highlight the inherent and unquestionable links between tourism resilience and regeneration.
“In this regard, Dubai Expo offers a perfect space to showcase our work and build global partnerships with key decision makers continuing our mission to provide guidance to global, regional, and national tourism stakeholders,” GTRCMC and Resilience Council Co-Chair, Dr. Taleb Rifai added. The Expo has just surpassed 10 million visitors and has 108 countries represented in individual pavilions.
Global and regional speakers will share key information on investment which leads to resilience. Case studies will be highlighted by speakers such as the Most Honourable Andrew Holness, Prime Minister of Jamaica, the Honourable Uhuru
Kenyatta, President of Kenya and Minister Reyes Morato of Spain, Minister Al Fayez of Jordan, Adam Stewart, Executive Chairman of Sandals Resorts International as well as Julia Simpson, CEO of the World Travel and Tourism Council along with many others.
Taking place in the DP Pavillion in Dubai, the event started at 1:00pm local time and closed at 5:30pm.
The Global Tourism Resilience and Crisis Management Centre, headquartered in Jamaica, was the first academic resource centre dedicated to addressing crises and resilience for the travel industry of the region. The GTRCMC assists destinations in preparedness, management and recovery from disruptions and/or crises that impact tourism and threaten economies and livelihoods globally. Since its inception in 2018, several satellite Centres have been launched in Kenya, Nigeria and Costa Rica. Others are in the process of being rolled out in Jordan, Spain, Greece and Bulgaria. gtrcmc.org
International Tourism Investment Corporation Ltd, a London-based company which owns ITIC, facilitates challenging dialogue between tourism industry leaders and stakeholders on the sustainable development of tourism and travel and collaborate with governments, investors and project owners to create joint ventures that invest in developing innovative tourism and travel facilities, infrastructure and services that benefit all stakeholders, especially the host countries and their peoples. Itic.uk
The Global Travel and Tourism Resilience Council established in 2016 by the Jacobs Media Group with the goal of improving travellers’ confidence, the Council is a public private platform bringing together industry leaders and government to address preparedness, crisis management and resiliency through thought leadership delivered via media and dedicated events. resiliencecouncil.com
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