The Ministry of Tourism and Investment is positioning itself to better respond to the various types of crises which may affect the tourism industry. Earlier this month a finalized edition of the Crisis Response Manual for Tourism was handed over to Mr. Walter Christopher, Permanent Secretary within the Ministry of Tourism and Investment by Dr. Adelle Blair, Sustainable Tourism Officer and NODS Liaison Officer for Tourism.
According to Dr. Blair, after attending an Alumni meeting for the International Visitor Leadership program of the US Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (of which she is a member), participants were asked to submit grant project proposals. Because of the expressed need within the Ministry of Tourism for a crisis response manual outlining procedures and protocols in event of a myriad of possible crisis situations, Dr. Blair focused her grant proposal in the area of disaster management, and it was approved for funding.
Minister of Tourism, Charles Fernandez yesterday (Thurs) sat with key members of his technical staff and proceeded to execute a key component of the manual which was to identify and appoint personnel within the Ministry to fill roles on the crisis response team.
The Minister noted the importance of the exercise specifically at a time when the peak of the hurricane season is approaching. Already there has been a change in the initial below active prediction, now bracing the region for an active 2019 season.
For the Hon. Minister communication management is of utmost importance during times of crisis and natural disasters for a tourism dependent economy.
The manual will be tested for its efficacy and updated accordingly in August 2019 via tabletop and simulation exercises.
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