International endorsements pile up for Global Tourism Resilience Day
As the travel industry slowly rebounds from the devastation wrought by the pandemic, the exciting news of an annual day to focus on resilience brings into focus stories of good management, success and triumph. The Global Tourism Resilience and Crisis Management Centre under the chairmanship of Minister of Tourism Hon Edmund Bartlett and Dr. Taleb Rifai has announced the campaign for February 17 to be recognized as Global Tourism Resilience Day.
The process has begun with discussions for endorsements from key drivers of the international travel industry, sector and trade and various government organizations.
“We have been in dialogue with several key international organizations to provide endorsements in our advocacy campaign to establish February 17, 2023, as Global Resilience Day,” says Minister Bartlett.
Also marking the value of resilience in the global travel industry is a half day Resilience Forum being held on the subject at Expo 2020 Dubai in the DP Pavilion on February 17 from 2:00pm – 7:00pm. Speakers from the global travel industry will be discussing how resilience facilitates recovery, cements investment, and how women are driving the industry and increasing resilience. Enabling resilience will be considered by Ministers of Tourism from Jamaica, Kenya, Barbados, Botswana and Jordan. The second of the three sessions in the Forum, ‘How building Resilience attracts investments’, will be debated by Nicolas Mayer from Price Waterhouse Cooper, Raki Phillips, CEO, Ras Al Khamah Tourism Development Authority, Adam Stewart, Chairman, Sandals Resorts, Theresa Rice, Partner, Consulum and Ahmed Bin Sulayem, Executive Chairman and CEO DMCC. The panel will be moderated by Sameer Hashimi from the BBC.
The third session is comprised of a group of powerful women exchanging case studies and best practices on resilience initiatives they are heading up. Aradhana Khowala, CEO Aptamind Partners and Chair of the Global Advisory Board, Red Sea Development Company, will moderate the session after hearing from women who have or are setting up a Global Tourism Resilience and Crisis Management Centre in the respective countries of Kenya and Bulgaria.
Jamaica’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, Hon Kamina Johnson-Smith, Yolanda Perdomo from ICF, Liz Orteguera, CEO, Pacific Asia Travel Association and Rika Jean-Francois, Commissioner, Corporate Social Responsibility for the ITB Berlin will provide important thought leadership on successful programs around the world.
The event will close with the bulk of the speakers sharing their declaration for the launch of Global Tourism Resilience Day to be February 17. To register for the event virtually please register here.
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
For more information, please contact Laurie Myers at 1 949-742-9648 or via email [email protected]