Jamaica’s Minister of Tourism, Hon. Edmund Bartlett, delivered a robust keynote tackle Monday on the Caribbean Tourism Group’s (CTO) Management Luncheon, urging the area to take daring, united steps towards constructing better tourism resilience.
Talking beneath the theme “Caribbean Resilience: Crafting Tomorrow’s Tourism,” Bartlett laid out a transformative imaginative and prescient for a sustainable and safe future for the Caribbean’s tourism-dependent economies.
“We stand on the cusp of an period that’s unsure but laden with risk,” Bartlett instructed an viewers of tourism leaders, policymakers, and business stakeholders. “Our story isn’t certainly one of victimhood—it’s certainly one of steadfast resilience and unbreakable unity.”
A cornerstone of his tackle was a passionate name for the institution of a Tourism Resilience Fund, a regional initiative geared toward supporting small island creating states by way of crises and disruptions. Bartlett described the proposed fund as each a lifeline and an emblem of the Caribbean’s collective dedication to safeguarding tourism, which stays a major financial driver for the area.
“This Fund isn’t merely a monetary mechanism; it’s a symbolic and sensible testomony to our dedication to safeguarding the way forward for tourism for small island creating states,” he mentioned.
Bartlett additionally highlighted the continued work of the International Tourism Resilience & Disaster Administration Centre (GTRCMC), which he co-founded. He described the establishment as “the spine of our future technique,” noting its rising function in offering science-based, coordinated responses to international shocks that have an effect on the tourism sector.
“Caribbean resilience isn’t just a theme—it’s a strategic crucial,” Bartlett mentioned in closing. “Collectively, now we have the facility to craft a tourism mannequin that’s inclusive, regenerative, and future-focused.”
Minister Bartlett is main a Jamaican delegation to CTO Caribbean Week in New York, which runs by way of June 6. The annual gathering incorporates a packed schedule of discussions, networking classes, and cultural showcases, together with the Caribbean Media Market, Caribbean Media Awards, management boards, AI panels, and CTO’s high-level enterprise conferences.
