KINGSTON, Jamaica; July 16, 2021. Minister of Tourism and Co-Chair of the Global Tourism Resilience and Crisis Management Centre (GTRCMC), Hon. Edmund Bartlett, and Kenya’s Cabinet Secretary, Ministry of Tourism and Wildlife, and Chairman of the GTRCMC – Eastern Africa, Hon. Najib Balala today (July 16) signed a ground-breaking memorandum of understanding (MOU) that will pave the way for the two Centres to work together to develop policy and conduct relevant research on destination preparedness, management and recovery.
The signing took place during the Tourism Recovery Summit for African Ministers of Tourism currently underway in Nairobi, Kenya, where Minister Bartlett was invited to speak in his capacity as a well-respected global thought leader on tourism resilience and recovery.
Minister Bartlett lauded the MOU signing, as “a huge leap for policy research. It will allow these two Centres to collaborate in forecasting, mitigating and managing risks related to tourism resilience caused by various disruptive factors. This is truly an exciting opportunity.” The GTRCMC – East Africa at Kenyatta University, is a regional satellite centre of the international GTRCMC, located at the University of the West Indies (UWI), Jamaica.
“This is particularly relevant as we navigate and respond to the challenges brought on by the ongoing global COVID-19 pandemic. We must be at the forefront of coordinating responses, surveillance and monitoring, and organizing economic relief efforts within and across borders. Collaborations such as this are both critical and timely,” the Minister said.