Travel Industry Experts to Delve into the Impact of Covid-19

Senior academics and global travel and tourism bodies will discuss the geopolitical implications for the sector of the coronavirus pandemic in a live online debate this week, Travel Weekly UK reports.

The event is being hosted by the Global Tourism Resilience and Crisis Management Centre (GTRCMC) and is part of a series of Edmund Bartlett lectures, named after the incumbent Jamaican tourism minister who founded the centre.

Moderated by the executive director of the Caribbean headquarters of the centre, Professor Lloyd Waller, the discussion will look at the impact of the pandemic on travel in every major region of the planet.

Speakers include Dr Taleb Rifai, former secretary general of the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO), who will focus on the Middle East and the UNWTO’s executive director of world tourism Dr Manuel Butler, who will look at the international community.

In addition, ambassador Young-Shim Dho, chair of the United Nations SDGC Advocacy Alumini, will talk about Asia, Lee Mills, professor of crisis management and disaster at Bournemouth University, about Europe, Professor Sir Hilary Beckles, vice-chancellors of the University of West Indies, about the Americas, and Professor James B Kungu, director of GTRCMC eastern Africa office, about Africa.

The event is being live streamed on Facebook and YouTube and will take place between 9am and 11am (BTS). Registrations are free and open now on www.gtrcmc.org.

Partners for the Edmund Bartlett Lecture Series include the Tourism Enhancement Fund, the Tourism Linkages Network and the Global Travel and Tourism Resilience Council.