The government of Kenya has signed a memorandum of understanding with the government of Jamaica that will help the two nations work towards leveraging technology and innovation for a sustainable and more resilient tourism sector.
Speaking during the ongoing 4th Global Tourism Resilience Day Conference and Expo at the Kenyatta International Convention Centre (KICC), Tourism and Wildlife Cabinet Secretary Rebecca Miano called for a resilience fund and structured financing frameworks to support African countries in withstanding shocks, particularly in more vulnerable destinations heavily reliant on tourism.
“Africa cannot afford to build tourism growth on foundations of hope and reactive responses. We must embed resilience into our policy architecture, infrastructure investments, workforce training, and community protection systems,’ she said.
According to Miano, part of the agreement was also the establishment of the Global Tourism Resilience Centre at the Kenyatta University.
“ One of the outcomes of signing the MOU with Jamaica is receiving assistance in developing an AI tool for tourism in Kenya,” she said.
Miano further highlighted tourism’s role in job creation and revenue generator hence the need for systematic protection from external shocks.
“When tourism collapses under crisis, it is not just visitor numbers that fall. It is workers’ salaries, families’ and small businesses’ survival, and entire communities’ dignity,” she added. “Our responsibility as leaders is to ensure these vulnerabilities are addressed before disasters strike, not after.”
On his part, Jamaica’s Tourism Minister, Edmund Bartlett, who is the champion of the UN resolution establishing Global Tourism Resilience Day, said the conference was founded on a transformative realization that tourism needed more than promotion and needed protection.
He noted that global consultations had revealed a shared vulnerability across destinations worldwide, underscoring that resilience is now the new currency for tourism destinations seeking stability and competitiveness.
Addressing emerging threats, he emphasized that the tourism sector must urgently confront risks such as cyberattacks, misinformation and disinformation, which can destabilize destinations within hours.
According to UN Tourism’s latest World Tourism Barometer, the world recorded an estimated 1.52 billion international tourist arrivals in 2025 alone, almost 60 million more than the previous year.
The three-day conference brings together over 400 delegates and 40 expert speakers from across the world to advance practical solutions for crisis-proof tourism systems.
