business resilience met in Jordan for inaugural event. Ian Taylor reports from Amman


Rifai lambasts all-inclusives as ‘dangerous’


The former head of the UN World Tourism Organisation denounced all-inclusive resorts and cruises as “dangerous” and told industry leaders to ensure “every community sees visitors as their guests”.


Taleb Rifai, who stood down as


UNWTO secretary general at the end of last year, told the Resilience Through Tourism Summit: “If the local community is not with you, there is no resilience.” He said: “The all-inclusive model is dangerous because it is based on the model that you eat, sleep and everything in a resort. The ultimate all-inclusive is a cruise – it is why we see people on the streets in Dubrovnik, Venice and Barcelona saying ‘Tourists go home’ because the streets are full without benefiting the local community.” Rifai told the summit: “The


private sector should move from the concept of charity to sharing their business, otherwise travel and tourism will never be


“The only way to build resilience is to connect tourism to the local community”


sustainable, resilient and strong. Creating jobs alone is not enough. You need to convince clients to visit communities – to have meals, to have coffee, to buy souvenirs – to go outside your hotels. “You need to ensure the commu- nity surrounding your business is an asset. Without it, your business will not withstand any pressure. We need every community to see visitors as their own guests. We can’t build five-star hotels in three-star communities anymore.” He argued: “The solutions


are easy. Why not distribute restaurant vouchers to encourage people to go outside [or] vouchers for buying souvenirs? You need to share your business. “Resilience is about durability,


RIFAI: ‘If the community is not with you, there is no resilience’


and the only way to build resilience is to connect travel and tourism to the local community.” Professor Lee Miles of Bournemouth University agreed, telling the summit: “There is a need to acknowledge communities or you end up with local communities resistant to tourism.” Rifai added: “Resilience is not


just about being economically strong, but about political and social resilience. When the first Iraq war erupted [in 1990-91], the King of Jordan decided to oppose America’s invasion of Iraq. It was the correct decision – the pulse of the streets was in that direction. “Jordan had to pay a high economic price, but no one complained. There was a social and political aspect.”


Jamaica to set up Global Resilience Centre


A new Global Resilience Centre for travel and tourism is poised to open in Jamaica, the brainchild of Jamaican tourism minister Edmund Bartlett. He told the summit: “The Caribbean is the most


tourism-dependent region on Earth. Tourism is 40% of our GDP. We are hugely vulnerable to climatic events. We just went through two hurricanes that were off the chart. Twelve countries in the Caribbean were significantly affected. Barbuda now hardly exists.” But Bartlett said: “The circumstances you find


yourself in must not control how you respond. We need to understand how to recover and recover


quickly. How do we create conditions to manage shock and build resilience? “Public resources are limited in Jamaica, so public-


private partnerships are vital. The government’s role is to enable through public information, financial resource and regulation.” Bartlett said: “We decided to establish a Global


Resilience Centre in Jamaica to be responsible for global tourism resilience and crisis management. “We hope to launch the centre in September and


have a global launch in January 2019.” The aim, he said, is “to help countries that are poor build capacity”.


BARTLETT: ‘We need to manage shock and build resilience’


26 July 2018 travelweekly.co.uk 71


Jordan’s tourism ‘booming on back of democracy’


Jordan experienced a “turning point” in its history in June, according to tourism and antiquities minister Lina Annab, who said: “We proved to be a mature and adult democracy.” Protests in Amman in early


June forced the prime minister from office and the government to halt major tax rises. Annab said: “We demonstrated


what a democracy we are. This conference is timely in emphasising our resilience. Our visitor figures to May 2018 show a 7% increase in numbers and a 10% increase in receipts.” She told the summit: “We set a target to double tourism receipts by 2022, but we are mindful of making our tourism sustainable. We must ensure our paradise is not spoiled by mass tourism. So many destinations reach saturation point.” Dr Abed Al Razzaq, managing


director of the Jordan Tourism Board, said: “We have seen the region suffer from social and political instability.” But now he said: “Our tourism sites are booming. We see a massive increase in international air routes to Jordan, with 14 routes opening this year.”


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