President Medina is in Montego Bay on Tuesday, 28 November 2017, to share the Dominican tourism experience at the ‘Global Conference on Jobs and Inclusive Growth for Sustainable Tourism’ that began in Montego Bay, St James.
The conference, led by Jamaica’s Ministry of Tourism, runs from November 27 to 29 at the Montego Bay Convention Centre. In addition to President Medina, Prime Minister Allen Chastanet of St. Lucia is attending as a speaker.
Taleb Rifai, secretary general of the World Tourism Organization, the United Nations agency responsible for the promotion of responsible, sustainable and universally accessible tourism, described the Montego Bay conference as a milestone in the process of advancing tourism development . Rifai said that the landmark conference, which has attracted 1,300 participants, will set a new standard for partnerships with industry stakeholders. It will also contribute significantly to the sustainable development goals (SDGs), he added, referencing the level of partners convening in Jamaica – the UNWTO, the World.
The World Tourism Organization, the World Bank Group, and the Government of Jamaica in collaboration with Chemonics International are sponsoring the conference. The event seeks to identify successful models and future initiatives of public-private partnerships (PPPs) that will contribute to sustainable tourism development globally.
The Dominican tourism industry can boast impressive numbers in comparison to the rest of the Caribbean. Tourist arrivals have kept a 6.7% annual average growth rate. The Dominican Republic is the leader in hotel rooms. The country at present has 82,000 hotel rooms with another 15,000 under construction that are expected to open in late 2018. Government tax incentives to hotel construction have motivated investors to add thousands of hotel rooms in the past four years.
Most important, the Dominican government’s open skies policies has attracted dozens of new airlines and the country is the leader in flight operations in the Caribbean, with more than 270 daily flights to its eight international airports. The frequency and diversity of flight connections, has attracted even more airlines.
President Medina is traveling with Foreign Minister Miguel Vargas, Administrative Minister of the Presidency José Ramón Peralta; Tourism Minister Francisco Javier García; and Environment Minister Francisco Domínguez Brito, and his support staff.
Also attending and speaking at the event for the Dominican Republic is Frank Rainieri, founder of the Puntacana Group will speak on the “From Board Room Decisions to Destination Development – Industry Leaders Discuss the Key Elements to Successful Investments” and Jake Kheel, vice president, Grupo Puntacana Foundation who will address the audience in the panel Tourism and Sustainability: Threats, Risks and Challenges and will speak on the Keys to Sustainable Tourism”.
Read more:
Jamaica Gleaner
Live Streaming of the Conference
28 November 2017
