Jamaica says it will sign a memorandum of understanding with Sierra Leone aimed at strengthening tourism cooperation between Jamaica and the African nation.
“With the strong historical and cultural association between Jamaica and Sierra Leone, it is strategic to collaborate and strengthen our tourism cooperation. Both countries have a lot to offer in tourism and we can capitalize on this to build out new experiences for our visitors,” said Minister of Tourism, Edmund Bartlett.
Bartlett, who is attending FITUR, the largest tourism trade show held annually in Spain, said discussions centered on air connectivity; training and development; marketing and promotional activities; cultural exchange; tourism diversification and growth and resilience.
“The (COVID-19) pandemic has been the most tangible example of tourism vulnerability to disruptions and so a major area of focus will be resilience and resilience building to ensure the future proofing of the industry. It is critical that we build capacity in tourism to withstand and recover stronger for the next disruption we may encounter,” Bartlett added.
The Sierra Leone delegation, headed by Minister of Tourism, Dr. Memunatu Pratt, also discussed the country’s participation in the Global Tourism Resilience Conference to be held in Jamaica February 15-17.
“Tourism resilience is now at the heart of the industry’s survival. We must as destinations, exchange ideas and best practices to create the infrastructure to build capacity to detect, respond and recover from these disruptions,” said Bartlett.
He said further discussions to finalize the MOU between the two countries will take place on the margins of the Global Tourism Resilience Conference in Kingston.
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