United Nations (UN) has voted to create a Global Tourism Resilience Day, which will be observed every year on February 17.

The day will be used to promote a sustainable and resilient travel industry, focused on the potential of the tourism sector to drive economic growth, social development and financial inclusion, in addition to environmental benefits.

The UN voted on February 6 (Monday) to adopt Resolution 70.1 drafted by the Global Travel and Tourism Resilience Council in collaboration with the Global Tourism Resilience & Crisis Management Centre to demarcate February 17 as Global Tourism Resilience Day.

The resolution was backed by several countries and more than 30 private sector associations including the USTA, IATA, the WTTC, Travalyst, the Business Travel Association, LATA, PATA, ETOA, ITB Berlin, Travel Foundation, Travel Declares a Climate Emergency, the GBTA, USAID Developing Sustainable Travel in Bosnia Herzegovina and the Association of Touring & Adventure Suppliers.

Jamaican Tourism Minister Edmund Bartlett (see photo), who made the case to the UN and is also co-chair of the Resilience Council and the GTRCMC, said: “The day will remind countries and businesses in travel and tourism to focus on how you respond to crises, how you recover quickly, and how you will grow. That is what resilience is all about.”

Resilience Council spokesperson Laurie Myers added: “Every year leading up to February 17 we will run events and campaigns to remind both the public and private sectors to focus on preparedness, sustainability, recovery and resilience with the outstanding examples being honoured establishing best practice and, in the process, saving lives.”