Jamaica National Group CEO Earl Jarrett has been appointed head of a sub-committee to oversee the financial structure of the Global Tourism Resilience and Crisis Management Centre (GTRCMC).

Jarrett’s appointment was announced at a GTRCMC board meeting last Saturday by Tourism Minister Edmund Bartlett.

“After three years in existence, the centre, as a thought leader in resilience and recovery, has grown exponentially with satellites across the globe,” Bartlett said. “We recognise that, with this growth, there is need for a strengthening of the governance structure and a building out of its financial capabilities, and the best mind to lead this initiative is Mr Jarrett, who has a wealth of experience and knowledge in this area.”

The board meeting attracted more than 100 participants from around the world, and looked at critical issues such as the recovery of the tourism sector in a post-COVID-19 era; the groundbreaking traveller protection and emergency services programme, Jamaica Cares; and establishing a global resilience fund, as well as the official opening of the satellite centre in Kenya, among other things.

The meeting was told that a major aspect of building out the financial capabilities of the centre rests with the further development of the Jamaica Cares programme, which is a model that can be adopted globally.

In the coming weeks, Jarrett will organise a full team for the sub-committee to begin assessing the gaps and potential strategies. Following these sessions, a report on the way forward will be developed.

The Global Tourism Resilience Crisis Management Centre serves the worldwide travel industry, facilitating planning and preparation for crisis response, recovery and resilience issues.

The other members of the GTRCMC board are Dr Taleb Rifai co-chair, chairman of ITIC and former secretary-general of the United Nations World Tourism Organization; Professor Sir Hilary Beckles, vice-chancellor of The University of the West Indies; Jennifer Griffith, permanent secretary, Ministry of Tourism, Jamaica; Professor Lee Miles, professor of crisis and disaster management, Bournemouth University Disaster Management Centre; Ryoichi Matsuyama, president, Japan National Tourism Organization; Dho Young-shim, chair of the UN World Tourism Organization’s Sustainable Tourism for Eliminating Poverty Foundation (Republic of Korea); Dr Mario Hardy, chief executive officer, Pacific Asia Travel Association; Elena Kountoura, member of the European Parliament; Daniela Wagner, group business development director; and Brett Tollman, CEO, The Tourism Corporation.