Caribbean to Boost Tourism Safety with New Digital Health Initiative – Travel And Tour World

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The Caribbean region is set to benefit from a groundbreaking initiative aimed at enhancing the tourism industry’s use of innovative tools and resources to improve the health and safety of visitors, residents, and all tourism stakeholders.

The region has faced significant challenges from health pandemics like COVID-19 and natural disasters such as hurricanes, which have adversely affected public health and safety in the tourism sector, threatening socioeconomic development and the ability to sustain tourism and business operations.

To address these challenges, the Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA), the Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO), and the Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association (CHTA) have collaborated on the “Regional Tourism Health Capacity Enhancement and Digitization Project: Advancing Caribbean Travelers’ Health.” This project is funded and supported by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB).

One of the key outcomes of the project was the creation of comprehensive communication and social media plans, along with a Health and Tourism Crisis Communications Toolkit to support a Healthier Safer Tourism initiative in the Caribbean. This toolkit is designed for tourism partners in both the public and private sectors.

On June 11, project participants joined experts from the Caribbean Institute for Meteorology & Hydrology in a webinar to discuss the latest insights on the 2024 Atlantic Hurricane Season forecast, ahead of Hurricane Beryl’s recent passage through the region. Participants also received training, sensitization, and awareness information on the crisis communications toolkit, along with health safety tips and resources from CARPHA to protect employees and guests during extreme weather conditions.

The Crisis Communications Toolkit comprises five components, providing information on preparedness and response to public health threats:

1. Regional Tools of the Tourism and Health Program (THP), offering information on the nine CARPHA-developed regional THP tools.
2. Promotional Tools and Resources to engage travelers and health and tourism partners.
3. Media Relations materials, including examples of press releases, media advisories, and media pitches.
4. A Social Media Guide to support consumer and personal handles.
5. Resources such as correspondence templates to establish and sustain the Tourism and Health Program in each country.

The components of the online toolkit were developed based on feedback from tourism authorities in pilot countries Barbados, Belize, and The Bahamas, as well as input from CARPHA, CHTA, and CTO stakeholders. These resources will be available online to CTO and CHTA members.

Dona Regis-Prosper, Secretary-General and CEO of CTO, remarked, “The availability of these tools is timely during this year’s hurricane season. Collaboration and communication with our guests and internally with our stakeholders are essential to mitigate the effects of the global climate crisis.”

Dr. Lisa Indar, Ad Interim Executive Director of CARPHA and head of the THP, stated, “The tools would not only facilitate healthier safer tourism, but healthier safer populations as well. In the aftermath of hurricanes, as some member states are currently experiencing, increased cases of communicable diseases such as gastroenteritis, leptospirosis and dengue fever are highly likely. These additional tools would further enhance our efforts to mitigate against these health threats and protect both residents and visitors,” she added.

“As we’ve already witnessed, the earliest arrival of a Category 5 hurricane on record, it is essential that we support one another and uphold strong planning and collaboration at the company and destination levels,” emphasized Vanessa Ledesma, Acting CEO and Director General of CHTA.

“We reaffirm our dedication to strengthening our preparedness and response efforts through the implementation of these new tools: the crisis communication tool, online training modules, and the regional visitor information management system,” she concluded.

Additional components of the project include “The Technology Enhancement and Digitalization of Regional Visitor Information Management Systems” and “Capacity Development, Training, and Promotion,” which encompasses the development of 16 online courses set to roll out shortly.