GREEN ISLAND, HANOVER — Senior lecturer in the Department of Government at The University of the West Indies (The UWI) Dr Yonique Campbell says there needs to be a resilient regulatory framework to ensure the security of sensitive data and the overall integrity of the tourism sector.

According to Campbell, the State must play a major role in ensuring that the best and most effective measures are in place to guarantee trust and confidence in the sector’s ability to protect people’s data and safeguard the reputation of the industry.

“Cyber threats are often invisible and difficult to trace, making enforcement and mitigation complex. Many Caribbean nations, while making strides in addressing conventional security threats, now face an equally pressing challenge in securing their digital infrastructure.

“The need for a proactive State-led approach to cybersecurity regulation in tourism has never been more critical,” Campbell declared in her presentation to the third Global Tourism Resilience Conference held at Princess Grand hotel in Hanover last week under the theme ‘Cybersecurity, Privacy and Security: Measures for Protecting Digital Infrastructure in Tourism’.

Campbell pointed to the Cybercrimes Act (2015) and the Data Protection Act (2020) as proof that Jamaica has established a solid legal framework to address cybersecurity.

But she argued that challenges remain in oversight and compliance monitoring.

“In Jamaica, for example, we seem to face the perennial problem of inadequate oversight, implementation, and enforcement. States, therefore, have to build their monitoring and enforcement capacities and work closely with industry to address implementation of things like data protection measures,” she said.

“In line with pursuing an effective and robust regulatory system, it cannot be sufficient for companies to simply say they are in compliance with regulations to improve data privacy,” said Campbell.

“This should be verified by the regulatory authority through regular audits, for example. And importantly, penalties must be applied in line with legal provisions when there are breaches,” she added.

The senior university lecturer also called for a collaborative effort between private sector and Government to ensure the success of “any regulatory architecture”.

“In fact, cybercrime is a shared threat for both Government and the tourism industry, and both entities, therefore, have an incentive and a shared interest to effectively tackle this threat,” said Campbell.

She told the conference that while she supports tough regulatory and enforcement measures, “the main aim should be to ensure this through cooperation”.

“Tougher regulations should be pursued via a consensus approach. That is to say, regulation should proceed on the basis of shared threats and shared capabilities,” Campbell argued.

“The private sector has significant capabilities and resources and the State, of course, carries the backing of law to punish wrongdoers and those who violate cybersecurity laws and regulations,” she added.