ST JAMES, Jamaica— Tourism players at a conference in Jamaica next month will examine why the global sector is having such a challenge luring back the roughly 45 million employees who have opted not to return to their jobs after the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.

It is among issues to be discussed at the Global Tourism Resilience Conference scheduled for February 15 to 17.

“Half of the first day’s activity will be dedicated to a full discussion on how to enable not just the return of tourism workers, but the creation of the new skill sets of workers that are going to be required to take us into the growth era that is looming,” Minister of Tourism Edmund Bartlett explained at the event launch on Thursday morning.

The issue is one of the main items on the agenda for the event that will be held at the Global Tourism Resilience & Crisis Management Centre at the University of the West Indies, Mona.

Bartlett is hoping the event will not just be a talk shop but will result in concrete steps being taken in five main areas, including the launch of a Tourism Resilience Institute at The UWI.

According to Executive Director of the Global Tourism Resilience and Crisis Management Centre (GTRCMC), Professor Lloyd Waller, the Institute will look at resilience within tourism and beyond by offering short certificate courses, diploma courses, an MBA and an Executive MBA.

More details about the launch are expected to be revealed during the conference.

During the February event, the launch of Tourism Resilience Day will also be held, and in the meantime, the GTRCMC will have its board meeting on the sidelines and then outline its projects for 2023.

Investment in the sector will also be on the table, as well as a deep dive into Caribbean-African collaboration.

Pointing to the many challenges Africa’s tourism sector faces – many of them climate-related- Bartlett said the continent stands to gain a lot from the expertise that the Caribbean has racked up within the sector over the years.

Seven African ministers are expected to attend the event which will also feature a delegation from Saudi Arabia, another area of focus for Bartlett over the past year.

The three-day conference will see 40 international speakers addressing about 200 in-person attendees (the number the venue can fit) as well as a wider virtual audience.