Caribbean tourism sector to be enhanced by better health systems

By Tusankine English On Jan 29, 2016

(L-R) Secretary General of the Caribbean Tourism Organisation, Hugh Riley; Shamfa Cudjoe, Minister of Tourism; Dr James Hospedales, Executive Director of the Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA) **(Photo via Caribbean News Now)**

PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad — Trinidad and Tobago is one of six Caribbean countries to benefit from a US$800,000 Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) grant to develop and implement a Regional tourism health information, monitoring and response system. The other Caribbean nations that are beneficiaries of the IDB grant, as disclosed at Wednesday morning’s grant signing ceremony, are The Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Guyana and Jamaica.

The Caribbean region is the most tourism dependent region in the world and the recent pandemics – SARS in 2000, HINI in 2009, chikungunya in 2013 and now the zika virus – have accelerated the need to monitor and respond to travel related illnesses and support the tourism sector to adopt comprehensive and effective health and environmental sanitation practices.

In welcoming this three-year Regional tourism health initiative, Shamfa Cudjoe pledged the support of the ministry of tourism as “strengthening the public health system will strengthen our tourism product”.

Read more at: Caribbean News Now