Prime Minister Holness Calls for Greater Coordination to Preserve Tourism

Prime Minister Andrew Holness has called for greater tourism coordination across the Americas to better plan for crisis. Speaking at the 4^th CEO Summit held as part of the 9th Summit of the Americas, in Los Angeles, California on Wednesday, June 8, the Prime Minister highlighted that tourism generates 2.8 million jobs in the Caribbean, which is roughly 15 per cent of employment in the region.

In noting lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic, the Prime Minister urges stronger partnerships between governments and private sector groups in tourism to plan and manage a crisis. While referring to the importance of tourism to Jamaica and the region, he says despite a massive fall-off, Jamaica’s tourism recovery led the general recovery of the economy.

Noting the challenge of supply chains highlighted by the pandemic, he said the future of tourism has to take into consideration the issues of climate change. “Countries need to develop policies that will incentivize investors to diversify their offerings, and to protect the value of tourism,” he explained. More details in this report:

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