Resilience Conference to Focus on Future-Proofing Tourism

The upcoming Global Tourism Resilience Conference (GTRC) will focus on preparing the tourism sector for the future by addressing the vulnerabilities highlighted during the COVD-19 pandemic.

Executive Director of the Global Tourism Resilience and Crisis Management Centre at the University of the West Indies (UWI), Professor Lloyd Waller, said that while the tourism sector has proven to be resilient, it is also vulnerable to shocks such as natural disasters and pandemics.

“It is usually the first sector that bounces back after a major crisis as evidenced by the set of crises for the last 10 years. That vulnerability and the impact or contribution that tourism has to the global economic space, warranted the need to have a conversation about preparing for the possibilities of other disruptions. In other words [we will be] looking at the future of the tourism space, looking at trends, looking at disruptions, challenges and, more so, different solutions,” he pointed out.

Professor Waller was addressing the press briefing for the GTRC at the Jamaica Tourist Board (JTB) in New Kingston on Tuesday (February 13).

Under the theme ‘Navigating the future of Tourism Resilience’, the conference, which will be held in Montego Bay, St. James, from February 16 to 17, will cover ideas and strategies surrounding digital technology and cybersecurity, emerging industry trends, infrastructure, funding tourism resilience, and artificial intelligence and its use in the tourism industry.

It will also explore the contribution of women in aiding tourism resilience.

February 17, which will be observed as World Global Tourism Resilience Day, will be dedicated to discussion on tourism education and the establishment of a Caribbean Tourism Academy for the development of human capital in the industry.

The conference will also see the release of the book entitled ‘Decoding the Future of Tourism – Unravelling Emerging Trends and Possibilities’, co-authored by Minister Bartlett and Professor Waller, which focuses on trends in tourism and digital transformation in the industry.

This is the second staging of the GTRC.

This year’s event will be attended by the Secretary General of United Nations Tourism, Zurab Pololikashvili and officials from 10 other countries.