KINGSTON, Jamaica — Minister of Tourism Edmund Bartlett has been invited to give an address at the International Travel Crisis Management Summit (ITCMS) in London.

He will be making the address in his capacity as chairman of the newly formed Caribbean Tourism Recovery Group Secretariat (CTRGS) and coordinator of the ‘UNWTO Disaster Recovery Working Group for the Affected States in the Caribbean’, a release from the tourism ministry said.

Bartlett, who departed the island yesterday, will use the platform at the ITCMS to share the measures being implemented to increase resiliency in the sector. A major part of this is the creation of the Tourism Rehabilitation Action Plan for the Caribbean islands recently devastated by natural disasters.

“The Caribbean remains united in rebuilding our tourism sector to its former glory. In fact, my ministry is working very closely with the international and regional organizations as well as other Ministers within the Caribbean to create a working strategy to strengthen the sector’s resilience to the effects of climate change and natural disaster, thus making it more sustainable,” the minister was quoted as saying.

According to organisers of the ITCMS, the session aims to show the global way entities deal with crisis management and how indigenous components play a role in proactively addressing crises. It is intended to be a thought-leadership session, which should connect and inform the delegates.

Prior to his participation in the summit, the minister will attend the 2017 World Travel Market (WTM) – the leading global business-to-business event for the travel industry. While there, he will have key meetings with stakeholders as well as media entities such as the BBC, Travel Weekly, TTG Luxury, Globetrotter TV, and Travel Daily Media.

In addition to the Jamaica Tourist Board’s promotional activities, this year’s programme of the WTM will feature a UNWTO and WTM Ministers’ Summit entitled “Overtourism: Growth is not the Enemy, It is How We Manage It.” There will also be a ministers’ Destination Investment Symposium, which will provide an exclusive meeting point for Ministers and investors in travel destination development. Bartlett will later travel to Berlin, Germany, to meet with stakeholders and attend the Touristik Union International (TUI) Group’s Anniversary Dinner and Awards Ceremony.

TUI is the largest leisure, travel and tourism company in the world and owns travel agencies, hotels, airlines, cruise ships and retail stores. TUI has also been helping to drive significant tourist arrivals out of the European market to Jamaica.

The minister will be accompanied by the Chairman of the Jamaica Tourist Board, John Lynch; Manager of Airlift at Jamaica Vacations Limited, Geraldine Wright and his Junior Advisor, Gis’elle Jones. He returns to the island on November 12.