DUBAI, United Arab Emirates – Jamaica’s Tourism Minister Edmund Bartlett has called for a more aggressive push for human capital development which he said is critical to future development of the tourism sector in small island states like his own.
Tourism Minister Edmund Bartlett making his presentation during ‘The New Age of Island Tourism’ panel discussion at Arabian Travel Market in Dubai“The future of tourism will depend on innovation, agility and creativity from our workers who are at the heart of our hospitality machinery. It is through the dedication and commitment of our tourism workers that the industry has been able to recover from the pandemic and grow,” Bartlett said as he participated in a panel discussion on “The New Age of Island Tourism,” here.
Bartlett told the Arabian Travel Market panel discussion here that for Jamaica in particular, workers are the backbone of the county’s success including “our enviable 42 per cent repeat visitor rate”.
The panel, which included Sylvestre Radegonde, Minister for Foreign Affairs and Tourism of Seychelles and Dr. Emad Abuelanain, Associate Professor of Tourism at the University of Khorfakkan, examined the uniqueness of island tourism and its overall contribution to global tourism.
“Small island states like Jamaica are heavily tourism dependent so investment in our human capital development is critical to our growth strategy including building resilience. Our workers are our most iconic attraction and increasing their certification will increase the capacity to earn and contribute to the country’s tourism development.
“The business of mitigation and adaptation to manage disruptions is important and can only come from building our human capital which we have invested in through the Jamaica Centre of Tourism Innovation,” said Bartlett.
The Jamaica Centre of Tourism Innovation was established to provide certification for students and recent graduates studying Hospitality, Tourism or Culinary Arts, as well as persons working in the tourism industry.
From April 2023 to March 2024, a total of three thousand three hundred seventy-nine candidates successfully attained certification, representing an impressive 91% success rate.
“We have also targeted high school students with the implementation of the Hospitality and Tourism Management programme to ensure succession planning with the next generation of tourism workers,” said Bartlett, who is leading a delegation to the Arabian Travel Market conference.
Over the last three decades Arabian Travel Market has become a leading global event enabling growth for the travel and tourism industry with thousands of participants attending.
Bartlett is expected to hold discussions with several tourism partners and stakeholders as part the efforts of attracting more visitors from this region.
