Holness warns Caribbean leaders

JAMAICA Prime Minister Andrew Holness is calling on his regional counterparts to avoid becoming complacent in relation to the threat of cyber security issues, particularly in relation to countries that are heavily dependent of tourism.

At the launch of the Global Tourism Resilience and Crisis Management Centre (GTRCM) in Montego Bay, Jamaica last week, Holness said security is at the height of destination management.

The GTRCM, the brainchild of Jamaica's Tourism Minister Edmund Bartlett, is based at the Mona campus of the University of the West Indies, and is designed to assist global tourism destinations with destination preparedness, management and recovery from disruptions and / or crises that impact tourism and threaten economies and livelihoods globally.

"Security in the region is a delicate issue to manage where, at times, you can't say too much, but at the same time you need to reassure the public of the safety of the destination," Holness said.

"There are many threats which present themselves – local threats, global terrorism, threats of war, pandemics. But one thing that has been emerging in a serious way which we have to pay attention to, is that of cyber security.

"That is so because, the truth is, global travel is so much dependent on the business of the exchange of information. So the data of the travelling person is vitally important. If that data is not protected, then it could virtually cripple the industry."

Holness said because it is not seen so much as a physical threat, governments sometimes underestimate it. He said a lot more work needs to be done in the region to deal with the issue.

"The other major threat, which Jamaica is paying close attention to, is pandemics. More and more we are seeing how pandemics can have a significant effect on travel. Thankfully the region has been spared any major pandemics, but we are not taking it for granted.

"The problem with pandemics is not that people will get sick and not be able to function, the real challenge is people just hearing that there is something in this region and they would avoid coming here. It doesn't matter in what country it is happening."

Holness also boasted of signs of economic recovery since the last global recession in 2009, and said the tourism sector contributed significantly to the stability his country is experiencing now.

"The most recent data provided by the UN World Tourism Organisation found that in 2018 the tourism sector grew by 4.6 per cent, and that was much faster than the global economy. For Jamaica, over the past ten years, our data shows our tourism industry grew by 36 per cent, while the rest of the economy grew by six per cent."