NEWS ALERT – INTERVIEW OPPORTUNITY 

CLIMATE DISASTER RELIEF FUND CALL

Jamaican Tourism Minister: Hon. Edmund Bartlett will be available for one-on-one interviews in London

Dates: 25th – 27th January 2020

Jamaican Tourism Minister and Co-Chair of the Global Tourism Resilience and Crisis Management Centre (GTRCM), Hon. Edmund Bartlett, is calling on industry and governments for the immediate establishment of an international relief fund for tourism-dependent communities threatened by climate change.

Tourism was worth nearly $8.8 trillion globally in 2018 (https://www.wttc.org/about/media-centre/press-releases/press-releases/2019/travel-tourism-continues-strong-growth-above-global-gdp/) and contributed one in ten jobs worldwide, but the industry is now facing its greatest ever existential threat.

Climate change jeopardises ecosystems, economies and livelihoods. It brings rising sea levels, heatwaves, more frequent, more intense storms, wild fires and droughts, and, with rapidly growing public awareness of humanity's contribution to the climate emergency, the tourism industry must anticipate falling margins as the world's appetite for travel is overshadowed by climate concern.

Australia's ongoing bushfire disaster is widely seen as proof of that emergency, prompting the Minister to repeat his demands for the establishment of a Global Resilience Fund, financed by governments and industry, to provide relief to tourism-dependent countries and communities affected by such calamities.

“Climate change has shown that it will continue to be the main existential threat to global peace and stability in this millennium, said Minister Bartlett. “Tourism remains the most vulnerable sector to climate change and as such we must act now to ensure the viability of the industry. A Global Resilience Fund will help countries to better prepare and recover in times of crises.

“There will be more devastation to lives, wildlife and economies because of climate change. We therefore need to build capacity to be more resilient in crises to respond more effectively, recover and ultimately thrive after they have occurred.”

Tourism Minister and Co-Chair of the Global Tourism Resilience and Crisis Management Centre (GTRCM), Hon. Edmund Bartlett is available to comment on the threats to global tourism and the urgency for the establishment of a Global Resilience Fund TBC.

Book an interview by contacting phoebe@prmediaco.com / hannah@prmediaco.com or call +44 (0) 203 302 5560 / 07985 673582

Notes to editors:

The GTRCM was created with an international board of industry and academic experts to assist global tourism destinations in preparation for and mitigation of threats to economies and livelihoods from climate change and other crises.

From its headquarters in the University of the West Indies in Kingston, Jamaica, the GTRCM is working through R&D, policy advocacy, project design and management and training to equip vulnerable economies for the challenges posed not just by climate change but also natural disasters; cybercrime; pandemics; terrorism; war and other disruptions.