KINGSTON, Jamaica — Tourism Minister, Edmund Bartlett says the first Board of Governors and Associates meeting for the Global Tourism Resilience and Crisis Management Centre in London, was a huge success.

He said that the meeting covered a range of key operational and policy arrangements, concerning the January 2019 opening of the centre, and made a number of decisions, which will have to be carried out within the next three months.

“Firstly, the Centre will develop a toolkit for resilience. Secondly, we will develop a major programme for the creation of a barometer, which will measure the level of resilience in countries. This is the first of its kind and will also make Jamaica a true centre of reference, for critical resilience development issues,” Bartlett said.

The meeting was held on Sunday at the Chesterfield Mayfair Hotel and lasted for approximately four hours. It was chaired by former United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) Secretary General, Dr Taleb Rifai, who has committed to serving as Chairman pro tem.

Bartlett, who served as co-chair, noted that the meeting was well-attended by all the board members, including video conferencing connections with honorary chairperson of the Centre, Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca, President of Malta, as well as, Earl Jarret, board member and General Manager of the Jamaica National Building Society (JNBS).

The centre, which is the first of its kind, will be tasked with creating, producing and generating toolkits, guidelines and policies to handle the recovery process following a disaster. It is be based at the Mona Campus of the University of the West Indies, and will include a Sustainable Tourism Observatory, which will assist with preparedness, management and recovery from disruptions and/or crises that impact tourism and threaten economies and livelihoods.