Jamaica will be playing a key role in the restoration of global tourism when the coronavirus pandemic ends, according to Jamaica Tourism Minister Edmund Bartlett. 

The country is not just working to help its own tourism sector recover, he said, but is looking to help other Caribbean destinations and international destinations with their rebounds. 

“Jamaica is not just talking about itself,” Bartlett said. “Jamaica is not just talking about how we build back our product. Jamaica also has an international role that we are playing in helping to build back global tourism.”

Part of that effort will come from the country’s Global Tourism Resilience and Crisis Management Center in Kingston, which is already working to “provide global responses,” he said. 

For example, Jamaica is working with the African Tourism Board on a continent-wide tourism response. 

The Resilience Center is being asked “to formulate the strategic approaches for that,” he said. 

It’s a strong step for the center, which was established to help manage risks related to tourism resilience, from natural disasters to pandemics. 

— CJ