Carlton University in Ottawa is the latest university in the world to add a Global Tourism Resilience and Crisis Management Centre (GTRCMC).
The founder of this widely recognized global initiative is Jamaica’s minister of tourism, the Hon. Edmund Bartlett. He earned the nickname of a global tourism minister.
Headquartered at the University of the West Indies in Jamaica, the resilience center has been the contribution of Jamaica to the global travel and tourism world. The centers had been extremely active throughout the COVID -19 pandemic, and through several hurricane disasters in the years before the pandemic.
February 17 is declared Ụbọchị Nlegharị anya n'ụwa niile. Minister Bartlett invited representatives of both Canadian tourism crisis centers to join him in Jamaica on that day.
Jamaica’s Prime Minister Andrew Holness’ recently called for the declaration of February 17 as Ụbọchị Nlegharị anya n'ụwa niile.
On Thursday, Bartlett met with a team of Faculty members led by Dr. Bettina Appel Kuzmarov, Associate Vice President of Carlton University in Ottawa, Ontario, along with graduate students to discuss the establishment of the second Global Tourism Resilence and Crisis Management Centre in Canada.
The first Canadian center was launched in April this year at George Brown College in Toronto, Ontario.
Ministers Bartlett outlined the concept for the centers he founded in 2018.
Under the leadership of Professor Lloyd Waller at the University of the West Indies, crisis centers are now established in 5 countries outside Jamaica, namely Kenya, Jordan, the United Kingdom, the United States, and Canada.
In his opening address, the Jamaica minister explained the enormous growth of the global travel and tourism industry. Prior to COVID tourism was the fastest-growing economic activity generating 10% of the global GDP, 11% of all the jobs in the world, and 9 Trillion US Dollars of expenditure by 1.4 billion travelers.
Canada has a significant outbound tourism market, and at the same time is a strong destination for inbound travelers. Tourism is the second largest foreign exchange earner in this country.
The Caribbean which is the most tourism-dependent region in the world greatly relies also on Canadian visitors.
“The hard reality, however,” the minister said, “is that tourism is most vulnerable to global disasters, such as pandemics, epidemics, economic, seismic, weather events, wars, terrorism, and cybersecurity incidents, which must be tracked, mitigated, and managed. Such data will be essential for a quick recovery.
“The need therefore to build the capacity to bounce back quickly and grow is the driving force behind the resilience the tourism industry seeks.
“Some large and economically strong countries already have this capacity but the vast majority of tourism-dependent countries especially SIDS which are super vulnerable have little or none.
“The Centres, therefore, will become the repository of ideas, best practices, research, and development of tools to assist countries in
– Tracking and observing disruptions
– Mitigate
– Manage
– Recover and do so quickly
This is necessary to thrive.”
Hon. Edmund Bartlett
“The academic Rigor required can best be found in universities and institutions of higher learning which are also heavily populated by young minds ready for innovation, inventions, and the creation of new and appropriate technologies, systems, and methods to respond to this critical imperative which will enable the sustainability of our planet, people and tourism”, Bartlett explained.
“This is why the Centre is located in universities in six countries so far and is slated for eight more in the next six months. Bulgaria, Greece, Spain, Japan, Botswana, Namibia, Rwanda, and Maldives will open new Global Tourism Resilience and Crisis Management Centres.
An additional three new centers are also scheduled for the Caribbean. They will be located in Barbados, Curacao, and Belize.
Minister Bartlett was seen handing over a copy of his book on tourism resilience. The book is a compendium of scholarly articles by academics with an introduction from the former UNWTO Secretary General, Dr. Talib Rifai. It also includes a special chapter on Jamaica’s COVID recovery strategies.
eTurboNews is an official partner of this global movement.
IHE Ị GA-Ewepụ na edemede a:
- “The academic Rigor required can best be found in universities and institutions of higher learning which are also heavily populated by young minds ready for innovation, inventions, and the creation of new and appropriate technologies, systems, and methods to respond to this critical imperative which will enable the sustainability of our planet, people and tourism”, Bartlett explained.
- Headquartered at the University of the West Indies in Jamaica, the resilience center has been the contribution of Jamaica to the global travel and tourism world.
- Prior to COVID tourism was the fastest-growing economic activity generating 10% of the global GDP, 11% of all the jobs in the world, and 9 Trillion US Dollars of expenditure by 1.
