Jamaica minister of tourism, Edmund Bartlett, has signed a memorandum of understanding with his Spanish counterpart as the Caribbean destination continues to rebuild its hospitality sector.

Reyes Maroto, Spain minister of industry, trade, and tourism, was on hand to complete the deal during the FITUR trade show in Madrid.

The pair agreed to collaborate on various aspects of tourism development and economic transformation.

“I am very pleased to announce that Jamaica and Spain will develop a memorandum of understanding for collaboration in various areas of tourism development.

“Minister Morato and I today had extensive discussions regarding various areas of recovery and the reimagining of tourism as a driver of economic growth and transformation,” said Bartlett.

“We discussed the role of the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) as a critical institution for securing the academic and practical applications necessary to redevelop the new tourism that will enable small countries and small and medium-sized players to have a more equitable experience and to recover much of the lost revenue,” he added.

Bartlett also used the opportunity to invite minister Morato to the first ever Global Tourism Resilience Day, scheduled for February 17th at Expo 2020 in Dubai.

The day will focus on the ability of countries to build capacity to respond to international and global shocks and be able to predict with greater certainty their responses.

It will also aid countries in understanding and mitigating the effects of these shocks on their development, but most importantly, it will help them manage and recover quickly after these shocks.

“Jamaica is indeed a thought leader in this area, and we are committed to working with all our partners to build a stronger, more effective, and resilient world that can respond better to shocks that will come as we continue on this journey of life,” concluded Bartlett.

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FITUR host Madrid is celebrating its recent recognition as the World’s Leading Meetings & Conference Destination at the World Travel Awards, while Jamaica was honoured with the title of World’s Leading Family Destination.