KINGSTON, Jamaica — Tourism Minister Edmund Bartlett departed the island yesterday to participate in the first ‘Resilience Through Tourism Summit’ in Amman, Jordan.

The trip will also be used to garner more international support for the Global Centre for Tourism Resilience and Crisis Management Centre, which will be hosted at the University of the West Indies, Mona, according to a release from the ministry.

“The trip to Jordan is critical to the development of our Resilience Centre. While there, I will meet with the former Secretary General of the United Nations World Tourism Organisation Dr Taleb Rifai and a number of other experts.

Critical to this visit will be my meeting with former Secretary General of the United Nations, Ban Ki-moon to see what role he can play in this centre which has the potential to have a positive impact on vulnerable states across the globe,” Bartlett was quoted as saying.

The ministry explained that the invitation for Bartlett to speak was extended by the Travel Weekly Group, via one of the event’s organizers Jacobs Media Group, Europe’s largest travel and hospitality business to business media company.

He will participate in a panel discussion on ‘The ABC’s of Resilience’ alongside Dr Lee Miles, Professor of Crisis & Disaster Management at Bournemouth University; Isabel Hill, Director of National Travel and Tourism Office at the United States Department of Commerce; and Deepak Raj Joshi, Chief Executive Officer of the Nepal Tourism Board.

Following the discussions, participants are expected to gain an understanding of resilience in the context of travel and tourism, and to learn how selected countries have rebounded from adverse occurrences and what measures of resilience they have employed.

The event is said to be the first of its kind in its region, and is expected to bring together leading figures from across the globe, along with tourism ministers, officials, journalists, public relations, media and insurance professionals and cyber experts to discuss best practices and share lessons learnt.

Bartlett is scheduled to return to the island on Friday.