One of the largest global tourism conferences opened in Montego bay, Jamaica on Monday and will close on November 29.
Global tourism conference
A three-day international tourism conference began in Jamaica on Monday with delegates hoping to craft a global agenda to design collaborative approaches to mitigate shared tourism risks. The conference also seeks to strengthen resilience as well as build consensus around the strategies necessary to further position global tourism as a catalyst for promoting inclusive economic growth.
The event, which is being held under the theme “Jobs and Inclusive Growth: Partnerships for Sustainable Tourism’, is hosted by the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNTWO), the World Bank Group, the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and the Jamaica government.
Over 1,300 delegates
It is being attended by more than 1,300 delegates. At the opening at the Montego Bay Conference Center on Monday, Jamaican Tourism Minister Ed Bartlett said that “it is indeed a great honor and tremendous privilege to be opening this very monumental UNWTO international tourism conference, which is the first of its kind in the Caribbean.…this conference welcomes global policymakers and leaders in tourism from over 157 countries, several international agencies of the United Nations, as well as large delegation of local stakeholders to the beautiful city of Montego Bay for three days of fruitful engagement and discussion about the future of global tourism.”
Hoping for global agenda
The minister is hoping that at the end of the deliberations on Wednesday, a global agenda will be crafted aimed at collaborative approaches to mitigate shared tourism risks and strengthen resilience as well as build consensus.
“At the end of this conference I am very optimistic we will be able to craft a global agenda that seeks to design collaborative approaches to mitigate shared tourism risks and strengthen resilience as well as build consensus around the strategies necessary to further position global tourism as a catalyst for promoting inclusive economic growth, sustainable livelihoods, environmental sustainability and social development,” he told the opening ceremony.
Confidence and trust
UNWTO Secretary General Taleb D Rifai said Jamaica’s hosting of the conference was “a sign of confidence and absolute trust”.
The conference aims at identifying successful models and future initiatives of public-private partnerships to contribute to sustainable tourism development globally. It will also serve as a platform for leaders from the tourism sector, along with governments, donors and development and finance organizations, to put in place an international road map to promote inclusive economic and social development through tourism.
The conference commenced with an introductory session on the future of tourism in the Caribbean region.
“Tourism has the potential to contribute to all 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), yet we can only achieve our common objectives if we build strong partnerships. The Jamaica Conference will be a milestone in setting a new framework for collaboration in the promotion of sustainable tourism and an important legacy of the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development 2017,” said Rifai.
During the three-day event delegates are expected to discuss international technical assistance and financing for tourism development projects and donor-funded projects that balance scale, sustainability and inclusion among other topics.
