The Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association charts the path at the Global Tourism Resilience Day Forum | News
The Caribbean Hotel & Tourism Association (CHTA), together with its public sector partner the Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO), took center stage at the Global Tourism Resilience Day Forum in Nairobi, Kenya, presenting a forward-looking framework that positions the Caribbean not only as a region that survives crises, but also as a region that systematically and collaboratively builds the infrastructure to emerge stronger.
CHTA President Sanovnik Destang and former President Nicola Madden-Greig anchored their remarks in a single, defining statement: resilience is no longer reactive; it is institutional, collaborative and increasingly digital. It was a message that resonated with Forum organizer Minister Edmund Bartlett, Jamaica’s Minister of Tourism and founder of the Global Tourism Resilience and Crisis Management Centre, who put it simply: “Resilience is the new currency of tourism.”
Three pillars of the resilience of modern tourism
Destang outlined a three-pillar model of modern resilience: physical infrastructure, digital infrastructure and human resilience, arguing that digital maturity now determines the speed, inclusiveness and competitiveness of the recovery.
Drawing on regional responses to COVID-19 and Hurricane Melissa, Destang demonstrated how digital tools function at all stages of a crisis: forecasting demand and modeling risk scenarios before a storm; enabling real-time guest communications, satellite connectivity and cloud-based operations during this period; and driving dynamic pricing, CRM re-engagement and digital repositioning campaigns in recovery.
“Digital systems are no longer just marketing tools. They are an infrastructure for business continuity,” said Destang. “Digitally mature destinations reopen faster, recover demand faster and protect brand trust more effectively.”
A 25-year foundation for crisis coordination
Madden-Greig emphasized that the Caribbean resilience framework is not theoretical; it is institutional. For more than 25 years, CHTA has worked with the Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO) and national tourism associations across the region to build crisis management protocols, health preparedness, safety and recovery training into the industry’s DNA. This base has been stress tested in some of the most challenging environments in global tourism.
During the pandemic, the results spoke for themselves. Coordinated health safety protocols, regional health safety seals and the joint training of more than 10,000 supervisors, managers and owners of hotel and tourism businesses by CHTA, CTO and the Caribbean Public Health Agency, combined with targeted airlift protection measures, have helped the Caribbean record some of the lowest per capita hospitalization and death rates in the world, and Caribbean tourism to recover faster than many competing destinations.
Hurricane Melissa presented a different kind of test, hitting Jamaica simultaneously with infrastructure loss, workforce displacement, utility disruptions and a sharp drop in occupancy rates. For a destination where tourism represents roughly 40% of GDP, the stakes could not have been higher.
A Tourism Recovery Task Force was immediately activated, coordinating government agencies and the private sector with the speed and transparency that international partners – airlines, tour operators and travel advisors – needed to maintain confidence in the destination. A publicly accessible digital dashboard provided real-time visibility into the status of airports, hotels and attractions, while satellite connectivity kept properties online, accepting bookings and processing payments where traditional telecom infrastructure had failed. The result was a masterclass in coordinated recovery, one that stabilized traveler confidence, protected the destination’s commercial relationships, and provided a replicable model for how public-private partnerships and digital infrastructure can shorten the distance between crisis and comeback.
“Each crisis should make us stronger, better coordinated and better technologically prepared for the next,” Madden-Greig said. “The future of Caribbean tourism resilience will not be built from scratch. It will be built from this foundation – a foundation that is increasingly digital, collaborative and regionally integrated.”
AI as an accelerator, not a replacement
CHTA’s Technology Task Force and AI Guide for Caribbean Tourism, now in version 2.0, were highlighted as practical expressions of a structured approach to responsible AI adoption. Applications already in use across the region include AI-driven guest engagement, predictive maintenance, revenue optimization and energy management systems.
“AI does not replace Caribbean hospitality,” says Destang. “It increases efficiency, foresight and competitiveness.”
Building inclusive, regionally integrated resilience
Both speakers emphasized that resilience must flow beyond hotels to the broader economy. Digital platforms such as the Jamaican Agri-Linkages Exchange (ALEX) system, which connects hotels directly to local farmers, represent a model for strengthening regional supply chains. Based on research recently unveiled by the CARICOM Private Sector Organization, increased intra-Caribbean sourcing could generate an estimated $1.3 billion in savings for businesses, while reducing exposure to external supply chain shocks and increasing SME participation in the tourism economy.
“The Caribbean has long been known as a leader in hospitality,” Destang concluded. “Now we have the opportunity to lead something even more important: resilient, intelligent, technology-based tourism.”
