Jamaica has again been elected to the executive council of the United Nations World Tourism Organisation to serve a two-year term alongside Argentina and Uruguay.

This is a shared arrangement of the four-year membership. 

It will allow the three designated seats for the UNWTO’s Commission of the Americas, of which Jamaica is a member, to be served by more members of the region.

The second half of the four-year term will be served by Honduras, Peru and Brazil, beginning at 2019.
Jamaica minister of tourism, Edmund Bartlett has expressed pride that Jamaica would be represented on the Council.

He said: “The confidence placed in Jamaica internationally puts us in a unique position to reap a number of benefits which will undoubtedly have a positive impact on the people of Jamaica.

“As a result of this, we have been able to form a number of key partnerships, strengthen linkages with other sectors and witness an increase in investments.”

The executive council is responsible for the management and implementation of strategic decisions carried out by the UNWTO.

By collectively serving on the council, it will allow tourism dependent countries to work together to better advance the development of the region.

In explaining the decision to share the membership with Honduras, permanent secretary in the ministry of tourism, Jennifer Griffith, said: “Jamaica stands in solidarity with our colleagues in the region.

“We are happy that we are able to negotiate within the Commission of the Americas and agree to an amicable solution that will allow more countries within the region to participate in this global decision making body.”

Griffith added: “This was an objective of our trip to China and we are happy to have received the support from our fellow states in the Americas.

“We are confident that with this election, we will be at helm of the decision-making process of the tourism sector for member states within the Americas and, by extension, the rest of the world.”