Jamaica wins CHTA’s Destination Resilience Award

Jamaica has been awarded the Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association’s (CHTA) Destination Resilience Award for its recovery efforts during the COVID-19 pandemic and tourism resilience-building initiatives.

The Jamaica Tourist Board (JTB) said on Wednesday that the Caribbean Destination Resilience Award recognizes destinations with a deliberate focus on resilience as indicated by their commitments to address some or all of the United Nations World Tourism Organization’s (UNWTO’s) 17 sustainable development goals.

JTB said special emphasis is placed on highlighting destinations which subscribe to a collaborative and partnership-focused approach, engaging public and private sector stakeholders in innovative, needs-driven strategies.

Jamaica was at the forefront of thought leadership at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020, JTB said, stating that the island, under the stewardship of the Minister of Tourism, Edmund Bartlett, immediately created a COVID-19 Recovery Taskforce with public and private sector stakeholders.

Based on the innovative initiatives from this taskforce, JTB said Jamaica reopened its borders in June 2020 and never closed since.

“This award is for my entire tourism team and all our private and public sector partners who immediately saw the need to keep the lifeblood of the country open,” said Bartlett in receiving the award in Barbados. “From the minds and hard work of the team, Jamaica was first out of the blocks on the road to recovery.”

JTB said “robust health and safety protocols were implemented to help mitigate the spread of the disease.

“In fact, these protocols received the World Travel and Tourism Council’s ‘Safe Travels’ stamp of approval,” it said. “With the creation of Resilient Corridors, Jamaica was able to resume tourism activities safely and seamlessly as these designated areas had a strong COVID-19 infrastructure in place.”

“It is a pleasure to recognize my home country with this destination resilience award as it validates the countless hours and effort that went into the recovery through our public and private sector partners to ensure the survival of tourism,” said CHTA President, Nicola Madden-Greig.

“It was no easy feat to reopen our borders in such a short space of time and this award highlights the importance of partnerships in a crisis,” said JTA Director of Tourism, Donovan White. “We’re truly grateful and deeply honored to receive this distinction.”

Minister of Tourism, Edmund Bartlett (C) accepts the President’s Award for Caribbean Excellence in Tourism from President of the Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association (CHTA), Nicola Madden-Greig (L). Sharing in the moment is Vanessa Ledesma-Berrios, acting CEO & director general CHTA. Photo courtesy Jamaica Tourist Board

Bartlett was also recognized for his stellar contribution to the regional tourism industry. The minister received CHTA’s prestigious President’s Award on Tuesday for Caribbean Excellence in Tourism during the Travel Forum and Awards luncheon at Sandals Royal Barbados.

“The Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association is acutely aware that resilience strengthens Caribbean tourism, and it is a message that has reached all corners of the region and the world largely because of the efforts of one man, the Hon. Edmund Bartlett, Jamaica’s dynamic Minister of Tourism. This is one of the many reasons why we honor him today,” said Madden-Greig.

JTB said one of Bartlett’s notable international successes was the establishment of The Global Tourism Resilience and Crisis Management Centre (GTRCMC), which assembles distinguished international experts to examine resilience from multiple viewpoints, a timely and much needed forum for the examination of the key elements needed to strengthen the region’s major economic driver, tourism.

“It is always good to be recognized for your hard work and dedication, but this award is extra special as it is coming from my regional partners who I have worked shoulder to shoulder with for many years to improve our tourism experience and ultimately arrivals and earnings,” said Bartlett, who was also cited as an advocate for harmonizing cooperation and collaboration among Caribbean countries and has called for a single use visa to encourage visitors to travel to multiple destinations in the region.

In addition, the Jamaica Tourism Minister has urged the larger international airlines to dedicate more flights to the Caribbean.

Stressing it was possible to compete as well as cooperate with each other, he coined the word “co-petition.”

“There is much more work to be done, and I believe that the Caribbean is poised for even greater achievements in tourism,” Bartlett said.

“Tourism in the Caribbean and Jamaica are that much better off for having an innovative thought leader like Minister Bartlett, and we all wholeheartedly congratulate him,” White said.