Bartlett anticipates first contributions to US$10-billion tourism resilience fund

HANOVER, Jamaica — Tourism Minister Edmund Bartlett is elated that Jamaica’s tourism resilience campaign will take centre stage at Abu Dhabi Finance Week (ADFW) 2026, where the inaugural Global Tourism Resilience Award will be launched in December. Bartlett said an announcement on the first contributions to the proposed Global Tourism Resilience Fund is expected during the December 7 ceremony in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) capital. ADFW 2026 runs from December 7 to 10 on Al Maryah Island in Abu Dhabi. “We're excited about that because it signals something else: the embrace of the Global Tourism Resilience Fund, which Jamaica has been advocating,” he said. Bartlett was speaking at Sunday night’s World Travel Awards ceremony, hosted at Princess Grand Jamaica and Princess Senses The Mangrove in Green Island, Hanover, where Jamaica secured 39 awards at the event’s 33rd staging. He welcomed the prospect of initial contributions to the fund, which he has been championing as a means of supporting tourism-dependent economies, particularly small island developing states. Addressing the World Economic Forum in Geneva, Switzerland, recently, Bartlett proposed a US$10-billion mobilisation target for the fund to help vulnerable destinations better withstand and recover from disruptions. He described the anticipated development as a proud moment for Jamaica, adding that the world was increasingly recognising the country’s influence in tourism. Bartlett also praised the World Travel Awards for its long-standing relationship with Jamaica, recalling its ties with the late Sandals founder Gordon “Butch” Stewart. “We have had a relationship with Graham for nearly 30 of those years, starting with the late Honourable Gordon ‘Butch’ Stewart and the Sandals family,” he said. Sandals Resorts International led the regional honours at Sunday night’s ceremony, collecting 17 awards.