Bartlett hands over first Global Tourism Resilience Award
Published:Monday | December 4, 2023 | 12:11 AMJanet Silvera/Senior Gleaner Writer
WESTERN BUREAU:
The nations of Qatar, The Maldives and The Philippines, the (UAE) United Arab Emirates’ DP World and airport handling company, Dnata, made history last weekend when they became the first recipients of the Global Tourism Resilience Award in Dubai.
Jamaica’s Tourism Minister Edmund Bartlett, founder and chair of the Global Tourism Resilience and Crisis Management Centre (GTRCMC), initiators of the award, made the presentation during the 30th Anniversary of the World Travel Awards (WTA).
The recipients are entities and nations that have demonstrated global leadership, pioneering vision, and innovation to overcome critical challenges and adversity.
Founded by Bartlett in 2018, the GTRCMC aims to help tourism stakeholders worldwide prepare for, manage, and recover from a crisis.
The Maldives made the inaugural list, owing to its reputation for engineering solutions to climate change, developed over a span of 20-25 years. Almost all 187 inhabited islands in the Maldives have infrastructure that protects them from tidal swells and beach erosion.
The awards also come a year after the Qatar Fund for Development and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) renewed their partnership with a commitment of an additional US$10 million for the UNDP Accelerator Labs, the fastest and largest learning network on sustainable development working in 115 countries.
Qatar’s total support to the UNDP Accelerator Labs is now at US$30 million. From climate change to the future of work to digital transformation, the UNDP Accelerator Labs are defined by their ability to find, test, and iterate solutions and to learn from local innovators to advance learning on how to solve the world’s global development challenges.
The other nation handpicked by Bartlett, The Philippines, is one of the most disaster-prone countries in the world. Located along the Pacific ring of fire, the Philippines is highly susceptible to seismic and volcanic risks. The country is also subject to world record typhoons every year.
However, a World Bank report shows that support to the Government of that country has resulted in building the country’s resilience to climate change, natural disasters, and pandemics through development policy financing, investment operations, technical assistance, analytical work, knowledge-sharing, and policy dialogue.
Learning from its previous experiences in dealing with disasters, the Philippines has gradually shifted its approach from reactive to proactive risk management, with a significant focus on preparedness and resilience building.
Leadership and innovation
The corporate powerhouse entities that have etched their names in the annals of travel resilience, DP World and Dnata, Bartlett says have demonstrated unparalleled leadership and innovation within the tourism industry
“Corporate powerhouse DP World is an Emirati multinational logistics company specialising in cargo logistics, port terminal operations, maritime services, and free trade zone,” he explained, adding that Dnata, as a leading global air and travel services provider, offers ground handling, cargo, travel, catering and retail services in more than 30 countries across six continents.
Jamaica shared the spotlight with the other recipients when the island was awarded“World’s best family destination” and “World’s best Cruise Destination” by WTA before a large audience of government leaders and officials, global corporate titans, and travel stakeholders.
Bartlett, minister without portfolio in the Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation; Matthew Samuda; Tourism Senior Advisor and Strategist Delano Seiveright; and Executive Director of GTRCMC Professor Lloyd Waller and Chairman of the Jamaica’s Climate Change Advisory Board Professor Dale Webber were in Dubai on the occasion of COP 28, the United Nations 2023 Climate Change Conference.