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The Caribbean region is set to benefit from a pioneering initiative designed to enhance the tourism industry’s use of innovative tools and resources, thereby improving the health and safety of visitors, residents, and all tourism stakeholders.
The region has faced significant challenges from health pandemics like COVID-19 and natural disasters such as hurricanes, which can adversely affect public health and safety within the tourism sector. These challenges threaten socioeconomic development and the ability to maintain tourism and business operations.
To address these issues, the Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA), the Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO), and the Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association (CHTA) have collaborated on the “Regional Tourism Health Capacity Enhancement and Digitization Project: Advancing Caribbean Travelers’ Health.” This project is funded and supported technically by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB).
A major outcome of this project is the creation of comprehensive communication and social media plans, alongside a Health and Tourism Crisis Communications Toolkit. This toolkit is designed to support healthier and safer tourism in the Caribbean and is intended for use by both public and private sector tourism partners.
On June 11, project participants joined experts from the Caribbean Institute for Meteorology & Hydrology in a webinar to share the latest insights on the 2024 Atlantic Hurricane Season forecast, just before Hurricane Beryl’s recent passage through the region. The webinar also provided information on training, sensitization, and awareness of the crisis communications toolkit, along with health safety tips and resources from CARPHA to protect employees and guests during extreme weather conditions.
The Crisis Communications Toolkit includes five components that provide information on preparedness and response to public health threats:
Regional Tools of the Tourism and Health Program (THP): Information on the nine CARPHA-developed regional THP tools.
Promotional Tools and Resources: Materials to engage travelers and health and tourism partners.
Media Relations Materials: Examples of press releases, media advisories, and media pitches.
Social Media Guide: Support for consumer and personal social media handles.
Resources: Correspondence templates to help establish and sustain the Tourism and Health Program in each country.
The components of the online toolkit were developed based on feedback from tourism authorities in both the private and public sectors of pilot countries Barbados, Belize, and The Bahamas, as well as input from CARPHA, CHTA, and CTO stakeholders. These resources will be available online to CTO and CHTA members.
Dona Regis-Prosper, Secretary-General and CEO of CTO, remarked, “The availability of these tools is timely during this year’s hurricane season. Collaboration and communication with our guests and internally with our stakeholders are essential to mitigate the effects of the global climate crisis.”
Dr. Lisa Indar, Ad Interim Executive Director of CARPHA and head of the THP, stated, “The tools would not only facilitate healthier safer tourism, but healthier safer populations as well. In the aftermath of hurricanes, as some member states are currently experiencing, increased cases of communicable diseases such as gastroenteritis, leptospirosis and dengue fever are highly likely. These additional tools would further enhance our efforts to mitigate against these health threats and protect both residents and visitors,” she added.
“As we’ve already witnessed, the earliest arrival of a Category 5 hurricane on record, it is essential that we support one another and uphold strong planning and collaboration at the company and destination levels,” emphasized Vanessa Ledesma, Acting CEO and Director General of CHTA.
“We reaffirm our dedication to strengthening our preparedness and response efforts through the implementation of these new tools: the crisis communication tool, online training modules, and the regional visitor information management system,” she concluded.
Additional components of the project encompass “The Technology Enhancement and Digitalization of Regional Visitor Information Management Systems” and “Capacity Development, Training, and Promotion,” which entails the development of 16 online courses set to launch soon.
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