CTO Prepares for Emergencies
THE CARIBBEAN, February 28, 2006. The Caribbean Tourism Organisation is teaming up with the region's disaster response body, the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Response Agency (CDERA).
They will both perform a special disaster mitigation exercise at the 8th annual Caribbean Conference on Sustainable Tourism Development (STC-8) in Puerto Rico.
The entire first day of the conference will be dedicated to disaster management and preparedness, with CDERA leading the discussion in these areas of critical concern to the region's tourism industry.
The two regional institutions noted that in the last two years alone, Caribbean and international tourism have been plagued by a number of disasters, including hurricanes and floods and the inability to mitigate or eliminate the consequences of these disasters have resonated strongly in the affected countries.
"Tourism continues to be constrained by the ineffective mobilization and coordination of disaster relief and through this special session, we hope to explore the avenues where governments, the private sector and interest groups can secure more comprehensive and accurate information, employ improved mitigation strategies and establish sustainable disaster response capabilities," the said in a joint news release.
The programme for the day includes workshops on facilities assessment and contingency planning; a special general session entitled, Towards Sustainable Tourism in the Caribbean - The Disasters/Tourism Interface; and a session on Approaches to Risk Management in the Tourism Sector. The special general session on disaster management and preparedness will take place on Tuesday 25 April at the Condado Plaza Hotel., the STC-8 host resort.
The 8th Annual Caribbean Conference on Sustainable Tourism Development, organized by CTO in collaboration with the Puerto Rico Tourism Company (PTRC), and co-sponsored by the European Union within the framework of the Caribbean Regional Sustainable Tourism Development programme (CRSTDP), will take place from 25-29 April in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
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