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UNWTO’s Security Taskforce: Jamaica’s tourism minister attending

UNWTO’s Security Taskforce: Jamaica’s tourism minister attending

Newly-appointed member of the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) High Level Task Force on Tourism and Security, Jamaica’s Hon. Edmund Bartlett will join world tourism leaders at the group’s inaugural meeting in Madrid, Spain, on Wednesday for preliminary discussions on the current safety and security situation facing the global tourism sector.

The Minister, who accepted the invitation to represent Jamaica in the newly established taskforce in March of this year, says the meeting is very important as it will determine the priorities of the group moving forward.

“I am very excited to be a part of this important taskforce on tourism and security as it is in-keeping with the focus of Jamaica’s Ministry of Tourism, which is actively pursuing our goal of providing Destination Assurance. This meeting will allow us to have an open discussion, so that we can begin to collectively tackle the problem impacting the sector across the globe,” says Minister Bartlett.

“It is an honour for me to represent the country in this taskforce because in a sense it positions Jamaica as a reference point for global governance. As a country representative we will, among other things, get to respond to the needs of Member States by developing and adopting crisis communications plans,” he added.  

The High Level Task Force was approved by the 104th session of the UNWTO Executive Council in November 2016 with the hopes of addressing the current safety and security situation in travel and tourism. 

It is comprised of national experts proposed by Member States as well as international experts nominated by the UNWTO and selected based on their expertise in the fields of tourism and security, representing international organizations, academia, and non-governmental/civil society organizations and reflecting regional diversity. The body can, if necessary, draw on additional experts with specific expertise.  

The Minister’s participation in the taskforce is on a pro-bono basis and he will initially serve for a term of two years. However an extension may be considered by UNWTO.

While in Spain, the Minister will also be attending the 105th Session of the UNWTO Executive Council, where in his capacity as chairman of the UNWTO’s executive council for affiliates, he will lobby for one of the five seats allocated to the Regional Commission of the Americas for the period 2018-2021. 

The Minister departed the island on May 06, to attend the gastronomy forum in San Sebastian and will to return to the island on May 13, 2017.

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