Resilience is the new tourism currency

As the tourism sector faces unprecedented, interconnected threats including climate shocks, cyber-attacks, misinformation, and system failures that can devastate destinations faster than any physical disaster, global tourism stakeholders will gather at Kenyatta University from Feb. 16 to Feb. 18 for a critical conference on tourism resilience.

Jamaica’s Minister of Tourism, Edmund Bartlett, who is at the helm of this thought leadership, has emphasized that tourism resilience has evolved from optional to a development imperative affecting jobs, livelihoods, foreign exchange earnings, and community stability worldwide.

Minister Bartlett declared that: “Resilience is the new tourism currency. We are here to build it, measure it, and institutionalize it—so destinations remain credible under pressure and communities recover faster.”

The conference, hosted by the Government of Kenya, Kenyatta University, and the Global Tourism Resilience and Crisis Management Centre – Eastern Africa (GTRCMC – EA), serves as a capacity-building platform focused on policy, investment, crisis response, technology, and workforce readiness in the face of fast-moving global risks.

Professor Lloyd Waller, Executive Director of the GTRCMC, highlighted the organization’s evolution and mission in advancing resilience as a tourism discipline, pointing out that: “Over the years, the GTRCMC has helped shape global understanding by naming resilience as a discipline, developing practical tools and training, convening strong public–private partnerships, and expanding a network of regional centres that serve local realities.”

Minister Bartlett outlined three critical principles for the sector’s future:

• Resilience is competitiveness – destinations that remain credible under disruption recover faster
• Resilience is systems – governance, early warning, verification, cyber readiness, and proof-based recovery
• Resilience is global – risk crosses borders, and coordination must as well

The conference will culminate on Feb. 17 with Global Tourism Resilience Day, featuring Minister Bartlett’s keynote address at 9:00 a.m. East Africa Time under the theme: ‘A Call for Resilience: Many Nations, One Africa – An African Tourism Vision.’

“Global tourism’s future must be built on systems of resilience, not hope,” Minister Bartlett emphasized, underscoring the urgent need for institutional capacity, especially for tourism dependent states, to withstand and recover from disruption.

The Conference will address a critical reality that modern tourism disruptions are no longer isolated incidents but interconnected, fast-moving threats that can shut down demand faster than traditional damage assessments can be completed.

Go to www.visitjamaica.com or www.gtrcmc.org for more.

In the photo

Seen here, from l to r, are Minister of Tourism, Founder and Co-Chair of the Global Tourism Resilience and Crisis Centre (GTRCMC), Hon Edmund Bartlett, announcing the staging of the GTRCMC Conference and Expo in Kenya, February 16-18, 2026. Sharing in the moment is Professor Lloyd Waller, Executive Director, GTRCMC.