Jamaica has been awarded the Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association’s (CHTA’s) Destination Resilience Award for its recovery efforts during the COVID-19 Pandemic and tourism resilience-building programs.
The Caribbean Destination Resilience Award honours locations with a conscious focus on resilience as shown by their commitments to fulfill some or all of the United Nations World Tourism Organization’s (UNWTO’s) 17 sustainable development goals.
Destinations that commit to a collaborative and partnership-focused strategy, engaging public and private sector players in innovative, needs-driven solutions, are highlighted in particular.
When the COVID-19 pandemic began in March 2020, Jamaica was at the forefront of thinking leadership. The island, led by Tourism Minister Edmund Bartlett, promptly formed a COVID-19 Recovery Taskforce comprised of governmental and private sector stakeholders. Based on the Taskforce’s creative ideas, Jamaica reopened its borders in June 2020 and has never closed them 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 Minister of tourist Bartlett in accepting the prize. Jamaica was the first out of the blocks on the road to recovery, thanks to the team’s minds and hard work.”
To assist limit the spread of the disease, strict health and safety standards were put in place. In fact, these protocols were given the ‘Safe Travels’ seal of approval by the World Travel and Tourism Council.
Jamaica was able to resume tourism activities securely and smoothly thanks to the establishment of Resilient Corridors, which had a robust COVID-19 infrastructure in place.
“It is an honor to be recognized by my home country with this destination resilience award because 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 Nicola Madden-Greig, President of the CHTA.
“It was no easy feat to reopen our borders in such a short period of time, and this award emphasizes the importance of partnerships in a crisis,” said Donovan White, Director of Tourism. “We are truly grateful and honored to have received this honor.”