UNWTO secretary general wants annual celebration of Global Tourism Resilience Day in Jamaica

If the secretary general of the United Nations World Tourism Organization has his way, tourism leaders will be flying to Jamaica annually to celebrate Global Tourism Resilience Day on February 17.

Secretary General Zurab Pololikashvili, who arrived in the island on Wednesday afternoon, said Global Resilience Day, which was initiated by tourism Minister Edmund Bartlett and proclaimed by way of a resolution at the UNWTO General Assembly last year, is an excellent tool, providing the sector with methods to respond to different crisis situations.

“This was 1,000 per cent your (Edmund Bartlett,) initiative to establish this day, and my proposal will be to maintain this day and to celebrate every year, here in Jamaica,” Pololikashvili said. 

“It will be our legacy. Let's make a difference. Every 17th of February we come to Montego Bay or to Kingston, you choose (the location)  and do it,” he said during a press briefing at the Sangster International Airport in Montego Bay, St James.

Pololikashvili is in the island as the keynote speaker at the second, Global Tourism Resilience Conference scheduled for February 1-17, at the Montego Bay Convention Centre. 

The two-day conference will include panel discussions, networking opportunities, presentations and debates on matters of building resilience in tourism.

Key to those discussions is the examination of issues that are central to future-proofing travel and tourism against various disruptions. 

For his part, Bartlett said Pololikashvili's maiden visit to Jamaica and the English-speaking Caribbean has come at an important point for the country.

“His presence also coincides with a great moment for us in Jamaica when we, who have had the UN declare February 17th as Global Tourism Resilience Day, we will be having that observation and celebration and our chief celebrant for the occasion will be our Secretary General,” Bartlett said.

- Albert Ferguson

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