P. J. Patterson : Stop the Talking ; Start Action On Africa
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Time for action
FORMER JAMAICAN PM URGES REGION TO FORGE LINKS WITH AFRICA NOW FOR MUTUAL BENEFITS
By Marlon Madden ON ASSIGNMENT Global Tourism Resilience Conference - Jamaica
Stop talking and start doing!
This was the strong message from former Prime Minister of Jamaica the Most Honourable Percival James Patterson to Caribbean leaders on forming trade and investment ties with Africa.
He said there were several areas in which the Caribbean and the African continent could collaborate in an effort to have economic and social benefits flowing both ways, especially with tourism.
He said if the long talked about trade, tourism and investment bridge between the two regions was necessary before the COVID- 19 pandemic then it was “even more essential now”.
“Let us forge a strong, broad coalition that includes governments, private sector, bankers, hoteliers, academia, communities and the entire diaspora, to create a mutually-rewarding tourism architecture which is adaptable, competitive and sustainable,” he told participants on day two of the first Global Tourism Resilience Conference taking place at the University of the West Indies, Mona Campus.
Pointing out that tourism could be a major catalyst for development of the two regions and that he has “been involved in south-south endeavours for a very long time”, Patterson declared “I think time come for us to stop talking about it and do something about it.”
He said he was hoping that a consensus and determination to build “a strong tourism resilience framework based on cross sectional collaboration, international funding, technical assistance, the development of comprehensive warning systems and resilience parameters” would be developed.
Addressing the African-Caribbean Summit segment of the three-day conference, which brings together a range of tourism industry leaders and specialists to discuss the challenges facing the industry and to come up with solutions to build resilience and sustainability in the industry, Patterson said, “Today as we meet here in Kingston at Mona, in this seat of global learning, let us take a giant step towards the construction of that bridge.
“It is high time for the sons and daughters of the diaspora to visit their ancestral home and for our African brethren and sistren to see where their kith and kin now dwell,” he said.
“Let tourism spring like a baobab tree, as the finance of Africa, blended with the managerial expertise of the Caribbean for hotels, attractions and transportation can emerge to reunite our people despite the ocean’s divide,” he said.
He said the PJ Patterson Institute for Africa- Caribbean Advocacy at the University of the West Indies, of which he is the Statesman in Residence, was focused on “mobilizing the diaspora, Africa and the Caribbean in the fields of trade, investment, science, sports, culture and entertainment”.
“In the era of the pandemic and postpandemic, there is absolutely no doubt of the urgency with which we must push forward with this agenda as the challenges facing our two regions have become more acute. I believe to find lasting economic solutions we must look to one of the key drivers of growth - tourism - and we must do so across Africa and in the Caribbean,” he said.
He said the pandemic should serve as a major wake-up call for all tourism-dependent nations to “seek to rebuild anew and different” as he noted that the sector continued to face natural and man-made disasters.
Patterson also urged tourism-related businesses and destinations in the region to take advantage of the growing trend of “blended travel trips” of business and leisure, as he singled out Barbados as one of the destinations “already adopting and conforming” to such through the introduction of the Barbados Welcome Stamp that allows visitors to live and work remotely on the island for up to 12 months.
He noted that safety, health and trust were more important to travellers than at any other time in recent travel and tourism memory and that this should help to guide consumer attitudes in the short to medium-term.
He stressed the importance of continuous training and the use of technology to make the industry more sustainable, while suggesting that the Caribbean and Africa should explore opportunities in areas such as culture and entertainment and sports.
“However, the pandemic has put an even greater pressure on all of our six regions to refocus our efforts as the industry experienced a heavy loss of workers during the extended period of lockdown and travel restrictions. The skill sets needed to push the industry forward require training quickly and intensively,” he said.
“The Jamaican and the Caribbean experience and capacity can help in developing an institutional framework for training that could support the growth of tourism on the African continent and also be a benefit for us in bringing trainees here for exchanges which will create stronger professional bonds across the Atlantic,” he said.
“We would not wish to replace the general adventure for the visitors to our shores, but we must realise that our industry’s growth rests on utilising modern technologies in order to rise to higher levels of economic contribution and create more resilience from external shocks,” said Patterson. marlonmadden@barbadostoday.bb
From Barbados Today, 2/18/ 2023
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