KINGSTON, Jamaica – News of the formation of a global international tourism think tank on employment issues was a major development shared on the first day of the Global Tourism Resilience Conference currently taking place in Jamaica at the University of the West Indies’ Regional Headquarters, Mona, yesterday.
Dubbed Project Tourism Employment Expansion Mandate, or Project TEEM, the think tank will review research on the post-COVID employment fallout being experienced in the hospitality industry worldwide. Members of Project TEEM will devise strategies to address the challenge.
“Tourism recovery from the COVID-19 fallout has not been linear and our labor market has seen a drastic shift. Many tourism workers have left for various reasons, and we need to devise a way to get them back because they are the lifeblood of the industry,” said Jamaica’s Minister of Tourism the Hon. Edmund Bartlett, the conceptualizer of Project TEEM.
Conference Highlights
Two other important announcements that emerged from the first day of the conference was news of a Cooperation Agreement between the City of Malaga in Spain and the Caribbean Region, and the United Nations’ (U.N.’s) approval of the annual commemoration of Global Tourism Resilience Day on February 17. The U.N.’s declaration was championed by the Government of Jamaica.
Caribbean destinations stand to benefit from the Cooperation Agreement with the City of Malaga. Especially in the areas of technology, training, and assistance with the development of the region’s gastronomy product. Malaga is noted for its exceptional use of digital technologies to monitor and manage its tourism product. In addition, visitor satisfaction in real time.
The conference continues today with a wide range of panel discussions. Plus, a keynote address by Jamaica’s former Prime Minister P.J. Patterson.
The conference will close on Friday, February 17, with the celebration and first observation of Global Tourism Resilience Day.
To watch the Conference live, visit https://www.youtube.com/watch?
