BEST EDUCATION NETWORK THINK TANK V "MANAGING RISK AND CRISIS FOR SUSTAINABLE TOURISM RESEARCH AND INNOVATION" OPENED BY MINISTER TO INDUSTRY AND TOURISM FOR JAMAICA AT THE UNIVERSIY OF THE WEST INDIES, KINGSTON, JAMAICA

The Honerable Aloun NDombet Assamba, Minister of Industry and Tourism, Jamaica opened the BEST Education Network THINK TANK V at The University of the West Indies on June 17, 2005. Minister Assamba welcomed the conference attendees to Jamaica and acknowledged the timely conference theme given heightened concerns to protect an industry on which the economies of many of the island countries in the Caribbean, specifically Jamaica, are dependent. Minister Assamba stressed that Jamaica is known as a leader in establishing new markets in the Caribbean and broadening the product offered by Jamaica. She emphasized that the tourism strategic vision for Jamaica stresses greater harmony with the interests and culture of the local population, environmental responsibility for protection of Jamaica's natural resources and the wider distribution of the benefits of tourism across the general society.

"If Jamaica represents a tourism laboratory," noted Minister Assamba, "our island represents a case study for national disasters in the Caribbean. We are vulnerable to earthquakes, floods and landslides with ever increasing strong hurricanes impacting the Caribbean." She noted that a disadvantage of crisis is a focus by the media on all crisis incidents in Jamaica with resulting negative impacts on tourism. In the past 2 years tourism arrivals to Jamaica have benefited from the perception that the Caribbean is a safe destination and the effects of the US/Euro exchange rate.

Minister Assamba closed her remarks by stressing that education for sustainable development and learning lie at the heart of social transformation and crisis mitigation. The Minister urged BEST THINK TANK V attendees to focus on recommendations for crisis management and alleviation for small island communities, such as Jamaica, whose dependency on tourism as an economic force is primary.

Minister Assamba was joined on the podium by Professor Marlene Hamilton, Pro Vice Chancellor of The University of the West Indies and Dr. Pauline Sheldon, Chairperson of the BEST Education Network from the Travel Industry Management School of the University of Hawaii.

The objective of the BEST Education Network THINK TANK V is to bring together researchers from around the world to discuss and invite new avenues of research in the timely issues of "Managing Risk and Crisis for Sustainable Tourism Research and Innovation". The conference extends from June 17 to 20, 2005 hosted by the Institute of Hospitality and Tourism on the campus of the University of the West Indies, Kingston, Jamaica.