Jamaica Minister for Tourism and Co-Chair of the Global Tourism Resilience and Crisis Management Center (GTRCMC), Hon. Edmund Bartlett and Kenya‘s Cabinet Secretary for the Department of Tourism and Wildlife and Chair of GTRCMC – East Africa, Hon ) signed a groundbreaking Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) that will pave the way for the two centers to work together to develop guidelines and conduct relevant research on destination readiness, management and recreation.
- Minister Bartlett praised the signing of the MOU as “a great leap for policy research”.
- This will allow these two centers to work together in predicting, mitigating and managing risks related to tourism resilience caused by various disruptive factors.
- This is particularly relevant as we move and respond to the challenges posed by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
The signing took place during the Tourism Recreation Summit for African Ministers of Tourism currently being held in Nairobi, Kenya, where Minister Bartlett was invited to speak, in his capacity as a respected global thought leader, on the resilience and recovery of tourism.
Minister Bartlett praised the signing of the MOU as âa great leap for policy research. It will allow these two centers to work together in predicting, mitigating and managing risks related to tourism resilience caused by various disruptive factors. This is really an exciting opportunity. âThe GTRCMC – East Africa at Kenyatta University is a regional satellite center of the international GTRCMC based at the University of the West Indies (UWI), Jamaica.
âThis is particularly relevant as we are navigating and responding to the challenges posed by the ongoing global COVID-19 pandemic. We need to be at the forefront of coordinating responses, monitoring and monitoring, and organizing economic relief efforts within and across borders. Cooperations like this are both critical and timely, âsaid the minister.
After signing the MOU, the Hon. Najib Balala presented Minister Bartlett with a check for Ksh 10 million (US $ 100,000) to aid the East Africa Center activities.
The MoU will facilitate a strategic partnership on research and development; Political advocacy and communication management; Program / project design and management, as well as training and capacity building, specific to climate change and disaster management; Security and cybersecurity management; entrepreneurial management; and pandemic and epidemic management.

This is done through programs or projects such as: