#KINGSTON, Jan. 17 (JIS): Jamaica is to benefit from hosting the upcoming United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) Summit on Innovation, Resilience and Crisis Management.
According to Minister of Tourism, Hon. Edmund Bartlett, the
focus on resilience tops global agendas, and it is through capacity enhancement
that the country will be able to respond meaningfully to “global disruptions
that are coming at us daily”.
Mr. Bartlett was addressing a press conference at the
Jamaica Tourist Board offices in New Kingston on January 15 to outline details
about the Summit.
“The response has to be not only just
sustainability but resilience. It is to build capacity to be able to trap them
(disruptions), to recover quickly from them, to build better, so that you can
thrive,” the Minister said.
Mr. Bartlett said the Summit will be held at the Montego
Bay Convention Centre in St. James on May 28 and 29, and will include the 65th
Meeting of the Regional Commission for the Americas (CAM).
He noted that the Summit will be looking at models, and adopt best practices on ways to structure systems, and “help us in the Caribbean to deal with climatic events”.
The Minister also noted
that start-ups will be a big feature at the Summit. “We are going to be looking
at examples of start-ups in the Caribbean, and Jamaica as well,” adding that a
number of young people from Jamaica will be showcasing their experience with
start-ups at the Summit.
Mr. Bartlett said another focus will be on ways to create
new and exciting experiences, “because that is what the future of tourism is”.