KINGSTON, Jamaica — Tourism Minister, Edmund Bartlett is to travel to New York City tomorrow to engage in a series of strategic meetings with tourism partners and members of the Diaspora.

The meetings are to be held with stakeholders including tour operators, hotel representatives, select ‘Meetings, Incentives, Conventions, and Events (MICE)’ market executives and travel-trade media representatives.

They are in tandem with the Jamaica Tourist Board’s (JTB) marketing plan to increase visitor arrivals from the country’s leading markets across the globe, a release from the ministry outlined.

While in New York, Bartlett will also speak at a luncheon hosted by the Jamaican American Chamber of Commerce (JACC) on Thursday.

“I am looking forward to engaging with the Diaspora at such an important event which will benefit children in our homeland Jamaica. I am excited to share the progress our ministry has been making and the exciting new projects we are working on to ensure the continued growth of the sector to benefit the people of Jamaica,” said Bartlett.

The chamber will use proceeds from this event to fund grants to Jamaican children in the areas of education, healthcare and social and economic development.

The minster will also participate in the Annual Awards Gala of the American Foundation for The University of West Indies (AFUWI) on Thursday.

This year the event will honour Jamaican Businessman Patrick Hylton; American-Guyanese actress CCH Pounder; Jamaican writer Marlon James; Brooklyn-born actress and radio host Angela Yee; Antiguan-American Designer June Ambrose; and Grenadian-American Publicist Yvette Noel Schure.

“The gala will be another great opportunity for me to engage with the Diaspora. I will be making a presentation to them on the plans we have to establish a Global Resilience Centre in Jamaica, which will help to prepare our vulnerable sector for the possible effects, of not only seismic activity, but also about cybercrime and economic shocks,” said the minister.

The resilience centre, which has been fully endorsed by the United Nations World Tourism Organization and the World Travel and Tourism Council, will assist destination preparedness, management and recovery from disruptions and/or crises that impact tourism and threaten economies and livelihoods globally.

It will also provide communication, marketing and branding assistance to destinations hit by disruptions/disasters towards rapid recovery; provide business intelligence and data analytics information to destinations; and monitor the recovery efforts of countries affected by a crisis.

The AFUWI Annual Awards Gala will take place at The Pierre hotel in New York City and is organised with the aim of bringing together alumni and other partners of The University of the West Indies. The Gala will raise funds for scholarships as well as honour the achievements of notable individuals from the USA and the Caribbean.

Bartlett is expected to return to the island on Friday.