On 06FEB, the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) adopted Jamaica's resolution to have 17FEB officially declared Global Tourism Resilience Day.
Following a presentation at the UNGA's 58th Plenary meeting in New York on 06FEB, the Hon. Edmund Bartlett, Jamaica's Minister of Tourism, highlighted the importance of the declaration.
"Today's announcement will in fact signal to the world to put aside one day, February 17, every year, to not just observe but to create a greater level of consciousness around resilience. The pandemic has shown us that global disruptions will continue, so there will be more epidemics, pandemics and earthquakes, like the one in Turkey this week. The importance of this day is therefore to encourage capacity-building for the world to be better able to respond to these global disruptions and recover quickly."
At the General Assembly, the motion received the support of over 90 countries.
"If we are to future-proof the sustainability of tourism," Minister Bartlett added, "now is the time to give greater consideration for building resilience, and it is especially more critical for tourism-dependent countries like Jamaica, whose economic livelihood rests on the survival of the industry. This is indeed a huge step in coalescing global support every year on the important matter, and I thank all our stakeholders and partners who worked to make this happen."
The Global Tourism Resilience & Crisis Management Centre (GTRCMC), headquartered in Kingston, has been an advocator for building tourism resilience. The GTRCMC was established to address inevitable disruptions through preparedness, management and recovery strategies. Jamaica has partnered with the GTRMC previously in an effort to launch Global Tourism Resilience Day at Expo 2023 Dubai.
