Following a comprehensive safety audit of Jamaica’s tourism industry, tourism minister Edmund Bartlett has announced Major Dave Walker as the country’s director of visitor safety and experience.
Walker has been tapped to lead tourism safety strategy following the audit and create a new manual on tourism ethics for Jamaica ahead of the peak winter season.
Bartlett ordered an ‘intensive security audit’ of hotels due to an uptick in security issues highlighted by the media.
An ongoing state of emergency in the parishes of St James, Hanover and Westmoreland due to violent crime has also caused negative coverage for the tourism sector.
"Major Walker comes with a wealth of security experience and has been directed to critically review findings from the initial report with a view to analyzing the data and providing recommendations," Bartlett said.
"An important outcome from this further review will be the creation of a Manual on Tourism Ethics, a first of its kind, which will guide not just the expectations of security infrastructure in the sector but how we interface with each other," Bartlett said.
"This is very important, because this is going to guide the way in which engagements are made between visitors and workers, and the destination in general and we are going to be very serious about this."
The mission of the audit was to ‘identify gaps and ensure a strategy of a safe, secure and seamless destination for visitors and locals alike," the tourism industry said.
