The first ever Global Tourism Resilience Day is set to be launched at Expo 2020 Dubai by Jamaica minister of tourism, Edmund Bartlett, organized by his inspiration, the Global Tourism Resilience and Crisis Management Centre (GTRCMC), said a report in BreakingTravelNews.com
As Dubai prepares to mark Jamaica Day on February 17th, it will also launch Global Tourism Resilience Day.
The event is an annual tribute to resilience and naming a day as such, the centre aims to bring forward the needs for the travel industry – to focus on preparedness, crisis management, recovery and on-going resilience to the fore. The travel industry is and always has been fragmented, 90 per cent of the companies involved are small- and medium-sized entities and studies show that the majority are not prepared to respond to crises. Destinations must, thus, lead, and the GTRCMC is tackling that concern in a big way.
Coupled with the launch of the day, the centre has partnered with the Global Travel & Tourism Resilience Council (GTTRC) and the International Tourism Investment Corporation (ITIC) to provide an in-depth forum on resilience.
“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,” 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.
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 2020 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, Taleb Rifai added.
The expo has just surpassed 11 million visitors and has 108 countries represented in individual pavilions. Case studies will be highlighted by speakers such as the Andrew Holness, prime minister of Jamaica, Uhuru Kenyatta, president of Kenya and Spain tourism minister, Reyes Morato.
Also on hand will be Jordan tourism minister Nayef Al Fayez, Adam Stewart, executive chairman of Sandals Resorts International, Julia Simpson, chief executive of the World Travel & Tourism Council, and Liz Orteguera, chief executive of the Pacific Asia Travel Association, along with many others.
