Launch of Blue Tourism Resource Portal

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02:14 Hello,

02:15 everyone,

02:15 and welcome to the World Tourism Day launch of the Blue Tourism Resource Portal.

02:20 We're just gonna give everyone a minute or two to join the call,

02:23 and we'll get right started.

02:25 Welcome.

03:47 Hello again,

03:48 and thank you for joining us this morning.

03:50 Welcome to our event to launch the Blue Tourism

03:53 Resource Portal in celebration of World Tourism Day 2022.

03:58 Just a little housekeeping before we start,

04:00 to ensure we can all hear what's going on.

04:03 The audience will be muted.

04:05 If you do have any issues with your audio connection,

04:07 please press the down arrow next to your mute button.

04:11 Uh,

04:11 that should help you,

04:12 uh,

04:12 to make sure you have an audio connection.

04:14 Uh,

04:15 we do want to hear from you,

04:16 so please put your questions in the chat.

04:18 There will be a Q&A,

04:20 uh,

04:20 which Seleni will be,

04:21 uh,

04:21 moderating at the end of the session.

04:23 We are also recording this session,

04:25 and we'll be sending out the slide decks to everyone who registered,

04:28 so don't worry too much about taking notes,

04:30 but please just enjoy the session.

04:34 So in light of this year's World Tourism Day theme,

04:37 rethinking tourism,

04:39 it couldn't be a better time to

04:40 build a collaborative public-private resource base for

04:44 how to develop tourism in the context of sustainable use of ocean resources.

04:50 To tell us more

04:51 about this,

04:52 how to use this remarkable new resource,

04:54 I'm delighted to welcome Mark Spaulding,

04:57 president of the Ocean Foundation.

05:00 Mark,

05:00 over to you.

05:02 Thank you very much,

05:03 Louise.

05:04 Good day,

05:05 good evening,

05:06 and to those in my time zone,

05:07 good morning.

05:09 My name is Mark Spaulding,

05:11 and I'm the co-chair of the Tourism Action Coalition for a Sustainable Ocean.

05:16 I'm also president of the Ocean Foundation.

05:20 On behalf of the Ocean Foundation as the fiscal

05:23 host of the Tourism Action Coalition for Sustainable Ocean,

05:26 or

05:27 TOXO for short,

05:29 I want to welcome you to this event to launch

05:31 the Blue Tourism Resource portal as part of the,

05:35 as part of World Ocean

05:38 World Tourism Day 2022.

05:41 I guess it's still early in the morning here.

05:43 The Ocean Foundation is the only internationally

05:46 focused community foundation for the ocean.

05:48 Our mission is to support,

05:49 strengthen and promote those organizations dedicated to reversing the

05:53 trend of destruction of ocean environments around the world.

05:57 We host fiscally sponsored projects such as TXO.

06:00 We make grants,

06:01 partner with corporations,

06:02 facilitate networks and collaboratives.

06:05 We raise every dollar we spend to support those who depend

06:08 on healthy ocean ecosystems.

06:11 We house a free knowledge hub of curated research for.

06:14 Students and researchers,

06:16 we focus on several cross-cutting themes

06:19 throughout our work that include supporting island communities,

06:23 ocean science diplomacy,

06:25 ocean health investments,

06:27 ocean climate nexus,

06:28 diversity,

06:29 equity,

06:29 inclusion,

06:29 and justice,

06:30 and capacity building.

06:33 As such,

06:33 sustainable coastal and ocean tourism are a key part of our portfolio to protect

06:39 and conserve natural resources,

06:42 including

06:43 nature-based climate solutions

06:45 and all those who depend upon them.

06:48 So it was natural for us to work with

06:50 the High Level panel for a sustainable ocean Economy

06:53 and our partners at Ibirostar

06:56 to stand up TXO

06:58 and further to work with the World Bank and

07:00 many other partners to create and launch this blue tourism

07:05 resource portal.

07:06 The portal offers hundreds of useful resources including,

07:10 but not limited to guidelines,

07:12 toolkits,

07:14 best practices,

07:15 and case studies to be used by tourism decision makers,

07:19 managers,

07:20 and operators to make destinations

07:22 sustainable and resilient.

07:25 The portal is an important milestone for Toxo

07:28 and one of its first global initiatives.

07:31 So again,

07:32 thank you all for joining us.

07:35 It is now my pleasure to introduce our next speaker,

07:38 Martha Martinez Listi,

07:41 practice manager Markets Competition and Technology

07:44 at the World Bank,

07:45 to reveal the blue tourism

07:48 resource portal.

07:49 Welcome,

07:49 Martha.

07:56 The mute button,

07:57 Martha?

08:03 Thank you Mark.

08:04 This is like the beauty of being double connected in order not to interrupt you.

08:09 So thank you Mark.

08:10 I'm really delighted to be here today to launch the Blue Tourism Resource portal.

08:15 COVID-19 really highlighted how dependent the small islands

08:19 and small coastal states are on tourism.

08:22 As we have shift shifted from crisis to now um response to recovery,

08:29 the blue economy,

08:30 an approach to promote sustainable and integrated use of marine resources

08:35 has become a core element of the World Bank tourism engagement.

08:39 In the last year alone,

08:40 as an example,

08:42 the World Bank approved 141 million in Blue economy

08:46 tourism projects in the Caribbean and West Africa.

08:50 These are projects that integrate amongst other things,

08:54 fisheries,

08:54 waste management and resilient coastal tourism.

08:59 Blue tourism is a sustainable alternative to the

09:02 traditional tourism practices in coastal and maritime areas.

09:06 It is typically a low impact activity focusing on the

09:10 promotion of local communities and the conservation of natural resources.

09:15 As such,

09:16 it's not the activity that defines what a blue tourism activity is,

09:20 but how the activity is organized,

09:23 operated,

09:24 and for sure its impacts.

09:28 One of the common challenges er facing policy makers as well as entrepreneurs in a

09:33 small islands as they transition to more

09:35 sustainable tourism operations is lack of information,

09:39 data and resources.

09:41 I also just came back from er Kingston

09:44 and all around the ocean you can see Sar Sargassum

09:47 in the Caribbean Oceans and there are many questions around to

09:51 er what the small islands can do about it while attracting also the

09:55 new markets and the new opportunities that are present now post COVID.

10:00 The Blue tourism resource portal has been

10:02 created towards filling this knowledge gap.

10:06 So without further ado,

10:08 please

10:09 drum roll,

10:10 please.

10:23 It is with great pleasure and delight

10:26 that I unveil the new blue tourism resource portal.

10:32 This e-library offers hundreds of useful resources from around the world

10:37 that can help you to

10:39 create cultural experiences,

10:41 educate visitors,

10:42 and revitalize cultural heritage.

10:46 Protect

10:47 and manage the integrity of natural resources.

10:52 Improve crisis management and build resilient.

10:58 Embed sustainable practices at the destination and business levels,

11:03 and to finally strengthen local economies and enhance residents quality of life.

11:11 You can search for resources by type,

11:14 such as guidelines and case studies,

11:16 to name a few,

11:17 topics,

11:18 language,

11:19 and several other filters.

11:23 You can also find

11:25 existing learning and action networks that can help you build

11:29 the skills and make connections in the tourism industry.

11:35 The portal is designed for decision makers

11:38 and managers in all coastal destinations.

11:44 We invite you to become a Blue Tourism partner

11:47 and join the hundreds of organizations that are

11:49 contributing resources and helping to promote the library.

11:54 Please visit the Blue Tourism research portal today and upload a research.

11:58 You may have to find the right tools

12:01 needed to tackle your sustainability challenge.

12:04 And now over to Elizabeth Wright,

12:07 Project Manager for development of the Blue Tourism Resource portal to give

12:11 us a bit more of a tour of the new portal.

12:13 Congratulations to all again,

12:15 looking forward to your questions and the whole session.

12:21 Thank you,

12:21 Martha,

12:22 so much and thank you uh for such an incredible uh unveiling of the website.

12:26 I don't think I've ever seen a ribbon cutting quite like that,

12:29 so this is an exciting day.

12:31 Um,

12:32 I'm here to provide a little more of an in-depth

12:34 look of how to use the Blue Tourism Resource portal.

12:37 I'll start by saying that to create the portal,

12:40 we initially conducted interviews and spoke

12:42 with industry professionals at all different levels

12:45 in different parts of the world

12:47 who depend and work in ocean tourism.

12:51 We then took a really deep dive into research,

12:53 uh,

12:54 looking at a variety of networks,

12:56 platforms,

12:56 knowledge hubs,

12:57 and individual resources.

12:59 We also put out a call to action for folks to

13:02 submit resources they thought would be useful for the portal.

13:06 All of this in order to develop

13:08 a useful criteria

13:09 to ensure that the resources that we include in the portal are practical,

13:14 useful,

13:14 and accessible for all types of stakeholders that work in ocean tourism.

13:19 Uh,

13:19 what we resulted here

13:21 is to have roughly about 475 resources,

13:24 but we believe this is just the beginning.

13:27 The purpose of the portal will really be that it grows

13:29 and remains current over time with those who participate within it.

13:33 The easiest way to find a resource is by using the search button,

13:36 which you'll see at the top right

13:38 corner.

13:38 You can put in keywords,

13:40 authors,

13:41 publishers,

13:41 titles,

13:42 and the resources you're looking for will appear on the right.

13:46 We've also created a filter system

13:49 that you can see where you can indicate a different type of category.

13:52 You will be able to open up uh

13:55 menus that allow you to choose different types,

13:58 languages,

13:59 geographic regions,

14:01 stakeholder audiences,

14:03 and a variety of different topics all related to blue tourism development.

14:08 For each resource,

14:09 we also analyzed for their relation to

14:12 Global Sustainable Tourism Council destination criteria.

14:16 And you can see here the numbers next to each

14:18 name show how many resources pertain to each of those types

14:22 of the criteria.

14:23 We also looked at the 17 sustainable development goals

14:27 and identified for each resource what sustainable development goals

14:31 are being met or how it could be used.

14:34 So to show a little example of how the portal works,

14:37 we've indicated goal number 14,

14:39 life below water.

14:41 And so once you do that,

14:42 all of the resources on the side,

14:43 I think it's roughly 136,

14:46 uh,

14:46 so far

14:47 on the portal directly related to meeting goals of that SDG.

14:53 One that we'll look at more specifically now.

14:56 Is the sea turtle friendly tourism standards.

14:59 So this is just one example of a resource on the portal.

15:02 You can see it has the name,

15:04 category,

15:05 the type.

15:06 We also like to include the publisher's level of accessibility for each resource.

15:10 We indicate whether it's free,

15:12 if it'll.

15:13 Cost anything or if it will require logins or downloads,

15:17 we indicate stakeholder users who would most be

15:21 able to use this resource and find it interesting,

15:23 geographic regions,

15:25 the,

15:25 the languages,

15:26 as well as those other factors that we indicated before.

15:30 For each resource,

15:30 you can log in to actually rate

15:33 and provide reviews of a resource that way that the most useful ones will,

15:37 will be very present on the website.

15:40 And if you scroll down a little bit further for each resource page,

15:44 we've included a citation block,

15:46 but also other related articles and,

15:49 and entries,

15:50 different resources and tools related to this topic that could also be interesting

15:55 for the user.

15:58 You'll also see that there's an add resource button up on the top right

16:02 that's there so that people are able to register

16:06 and fill out a form to actually submit resources.

16:09 Resources are submitted and reviewed by our team

16:12 and then published onto the website once we know

16:14 that they've met the current criteria for the platform.

16:18 The final area that I'll,

16:19 I'll

16:20 show is around networks and platforms.

16:22 As we mentioned,

16:23 we ended up taking a very deep dive into seeing what are all of the e-libraries,

16:28 networks,

16:28 platforms,

16:29 knowledge hubs that already exist related to tourism

16:33 and the ocean economy.

16:34 And so here we've listed about 57 of them.

16:37 It will still grow further as we.

16:39 Continue to learn

16:41 about all of the different knowledge hubs that exist.

16:43 But here you can,

16:44 users can continue their journey

16:47 looking for the resources and tools that they need by

16:49 going to each of these individual networks and platforms.

16:53 It's an honor to announce this today and I'm uh

16:56 looking forward to handing this off now to Stephanie Westhel to

17:01 uh

17:02 finish announcing the portal.

17:05 Thank you so much,

17:06 Beth,

17:07 and I'm so pleased and honored to be here with you today.

17:10 Uh,

17:11 before we get into the panelist session,

17:13 I really wanna highlight a few points,

17:16 um,

17:16 what the other speakers have said and added a few of my own.

17:20 As spoken about earlier,

17:21 TXO was really created as a call to action for leaders to work together

17:26 to meet several of the global goals in resilient coastal and ocean-based tourism.

17:31 Now,

17:31 our coalition does this by bringing

17:33 together different stakeholders across the tourism industry

17:37 to create global collective action and facilitate knowledge sharing

17:41 in which we are showing at today's event.

17:45 This portal

17:46 and the event is just the beginning of initiatives and projects hosted by Taxo,

17:51 and I really want to reiterate that my door is always open for feedback,

17:54 comments,

17:55 or just to provide support to your organizations.

17:58 I will put my email in the chat function as I really do look forward to working

18:02 with your communities and organizations as we need to

18:05 have open knowledge sharing for years to come.

18:08 And one last word of encouragement to each of us before

18:11 we start the session is let's not let this project stay idle

18:16 and as you're listening to the panelists today,

18:18 please be thinking about what resources and tools you or your

18:22 organization can upload to aid

18:24 other organizations on their sustainability journeys

18:27 and what resources you'd need in order for our collective work

18:31 to reach protecting at least 30% of the oceans by 2030.

18:35 I really do appreciate all of your attention and your consideration

18:39 on becoming a blue tourism partner

18:42 and without further ado,

18:43 it is my pleasure to introduce our moderator for

18:46 this excellent session on the blue tourism economy.

18:50 We welcome Seleni Mattis,

18:51 executive director of the International Institute of Tourism Studies at GW.

18:56 Welcome to the stage,

18:57 Seleni.

18:58 Thank you so much Stephanie

19:00 and good day to all of you joining us from far flung places and closer to home here

19:07 um where I'm hailing from in Washington DC.

19:10 I think there's one thing that we all share in common and

19:13 I think you've seen this maybe through all the speakers previously.

19:17 And this is,

19:18 you know,

19:18 our passion for

19:20 tourism and,

19:21 um,

19:21 it being used as a force for good,

19:24 and I think there's a lot of hope here

19:26 that by knowledge sharing

19:28 we'll be able um to shift the trajectories

19:32 that are coastal and marine destinations find themselves in

19:36 and put

19:37 our entire

19:38 industry on a course for a better future.

19:41 Um,

19:41 so to celebrate World Tourism Day,

19:44 uh,

19:44 we would like to explore

19:47 a few exemplary initiatives that are quite emblematic of the,

19:51 of this year's theme that Luis mentioned,

19:54 thinking,

19:55 rethinking tourism,

19:57 um,

19:57 and these examples that we are highlighting today.

20:01 Demonstrate how governments,

20:03 NGOs,

20:04 um,

20:04 and travel companies are looking ahead

20:07 and we're focusing on people and our planet and

20:10 putting them at the center of all their work,

20:14 sharing responsibility to create a sector that is more sustainable,

20:18 inclusive

20:19 and resilient.

20:21 Um,

20:21 so it is my great pleasure to introduce our distinguished panel of keynote speakers

20:27 who are spearheading

20:28 these exemplary initiatives featured on the Blue tourism resource portal.

20:34 Uh,

20:34 we'll have each keynote speaker provide a brief overview,

20:39 um,

20:39 of their innovation using a few slides so you have a good sense of how,

20:43 what it is and how it works,

20:46 and then we will open up,

20:47 um,

20:48 to a discussion.

20:49 Uh,

20:49 to give us more highlights about the impact that these innovations are having

20:55 and what it means for implementation,

20:58 um,

20:58 I encourage you to put your questions,

21:00 um,

21:00 in the chat box as Luis mentioned at the,

21:03 at the start of the session

21:04 so that we can address these immediately after the open discussion.

21:09 Um,

21:09 before I introduce the panel,

21:11 I'd like to,

21:12 um,

21:13 I,

21:13 we'd like to play for you a recorded message from

21:17 Honorable Edmund Bartlett,

21:19 who is Minister of Tourism for Jamaica.

21:22 He will be setting context a bit for this panel discussion

21:26 and the work that.

21:27 Jamaica is doing to ensure a more resilient um industry

21:31 both

21:32 in Jamaica but then also internationally so we'll see how

21:36 they are catalyzing change um around the world as well

21:40 um as a result of what they're doing

21:42 so with this I'd like to ask the tech team please to roll the video.

21:52 Based on the projections of accelerated climate change impacts

21:57 on the global economy in the coming years,

22:00 there's an urgent need

22:01 for international tourism

22:04 to transition

22:05 towards a more balanced and sustainable sector

22:08 that addresses

22:10 the central challenges

22:12 of how scarce natural resources can be prudently managed.

22:17 And how economic growth

22:19 can be aligned

22:20 with the preservation

22:22 of both land and marine-based

22:24 natural resources.

22:27 This model emphasizes values

22:30 such as sustainable consumption and production.

22:34 Or the use of services and related products

22:38 in a way that can respond

22:40 to the basic needs and ensure

22:42 a better quality of life

22:45 while

22:45 minimizing the use of natural resources

22:48 and toxic materials

22:50 as well as the emission

22:52 of waste and pollutants.

22:54 The whole notion of sustainable tourism also calls

22:58 for environmental sustainability to be built into all aspects

23:03 of the tourism products

23:04 building design,

23:06 construction,

23:07 transportation,

23:08 marketing,

23:10 entertainment,

23:11 adventure,

23:12 energy use,

23:14 customer service,

23:15 waste disposal,

23:17 maintenance,

23:18 and the use of utilities,

23:20 in particular,

23:22 There needs to be a clear consensus among tourism stakeholders

23:27 about the enormous benefits of healthy marine and coastal ecosystems

23:32 to the economic livelihoods and survival

23:35 of billions of people globally.

23:38 Healthy marine and coastal ecosystems serve as valuable sources of food,

23:44 income,

23:45 trade,

23:45 and shipping,

23:46 minerals,

23:48 energy,

23:48 water supply,

23:49 recreation,

23:50 and indeed tourism.

23:52 The importance of healthy marine and coastal ecosystems

23:56 in promoting sustainable tourism is especially worthy of acknowledgement.

24:01 This is against the backdrop

24:03 that 80%

24:05 of tourism occurs along coastal towns and areas

24:09 while the ocean-related tourism industry grows

24:12 by an estimated

24:14 US 134 billion per year

24:17 according

24:18 to the UN Global Compact.

24:20 Similarly,

24:21 the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development

24:25 OECD

24:27 has also predicted.

24:28 That marine and coastal tourism

24:31 will be the largest sector

24:33 of the global ocean-based economy

24:35 by 2030,

24:37 generating US $777 billion

24:41 in global revenue

24:43 and employing 8.6 million people.

24:47 Small island states are particularly reliant on coastal and marine tourism.

24:52 It constitutes the largest economic sector

24:55 for most small island developing states

24:57 and many coastal states.

25:00 In the Caribbean,

25:01 for example,

25:02 the industry accounts for 25% of the total economy

25:06 and 20% of all jobs.

25:08 Admittedly,

25:09 marine and coastal ecosystems are also threatened

25:13 by the tourism development.

25:15 The areas that attract tourists have been coming under increasing pressure

25:19 from the damage and pollution

25:22 caused by tourism facilities

25:25 and the supporting

25:26 infrastructure.

25:28 At the same time,

25:30 the impacts of climate change,

25:32 overfishing,

25:34 and other unsustainable practices,

25:37 and even some marine tourism activities

25:40 damage marine ecosystems

25:43 such as coral reefs

25:45 that are vital for maintaining ecological diversity

25:49 and regulating climate.

25:51 The United Nations has estimated

25:54 the cost of reduced tourism due to coral bleaching

25:58 at $12 billion US dollars annually.

26:02 Ultimately,

26:03 to prepare for the future

26:05 and to enhance their competitiveness,

26:08 global tourist destinations must urgently prioritize climate change action

26:13 and mitigation.

26:15 From the perspective of my own country,

26:18 the Jamaican tourism industry is very climate sensitive

26:22 and

26:23 like most Caribbean islands,

26:25 Jamaica's main tourism product is

26:29 traditionally coastal,

26:30 centered on sun,

26:31 sea,

26:31 and sand.

26:32 The island therefore is susceptible to many risks

26:35 posed by climate change,

26:38 including

26:39 sea level rise and extreme events,

26:41 with resultant impacts such as beach erosion,

26:44 flooding,

26:45 saline intrusion into aquifers,

26:47 and general coastal degradation.

26:51 In general,

26:52 climate change and global warming

26:55 are the most urgent threats to global tourism.

26:58 Impacting all dimensions of an attractive tourism product

27:02 sand,

27:03 sea,

27:04 sun,

27:05 food,

27:05 and people.

27:07 Climate change is associated with both direct and indirect threats to the sector,

27:12 including food insecurity,

27:14 water shortages,

27:16 extreme heat,

27:17 severe hurricanes,

27:18 beach erosion,

27:20 biodiversity loss,

27:22 critical infrastructure collapse,

27:24 safety concerns,

27:25 and increased insurance costs.

27:29 To promote a sustainable ocean economy.

27:33 Effective measures are urgently required

27:35 to push back against the rapid decline

27:38 of coastal

27:39 and marine ecosystems.

27:42 The tourism sector in particular

27:44 must lend its full support

27:46 to any action or initiative

27:48 that is intended

27:50 to reconstruct the actions

27:52 and ethos of the industry

27:54 to achieve mitigation of industrial activities

27:57 that most significantly harm the ocean,

28:01 its resources,

28:02 and ecosystems.

28:04 The transition to sustainable ocean economies

28:08 will overall require a set of concrete ideas,

28:11 strategies,

28:12 innovations,

28:13 best practices and policies

28:15 that can be standardized and operationalized

28:19 by all stakeholders.

28:21 To this end,

28:23 I welcome the establishment

28:25 of the Blue Tourism Resource portal,

28:27 which was created to help tourism decision makers,

28:31 managers,

28:31 and operators

28:33 make their destination sustainable

28:36 and resilient

28:38 by offering useful resources,

28:40 including,

28:41 but not limited

28:43 to guidelines,

28:44 tool kits,

28:45 good practices,

28:46 and case studies.

28:49 The establishment of this innovative portal

28:52 is consistent with Jamaica's tourism ministry's commitment

28:56 to the national climate change adaptation plan,

28:59 which underscores

29:01 the imperative

29:02 of adapting necessary policies and actions

29:06 to ensure

29:07 that adaptation strategies are mainstreamed

29:11 into the economic

29:12 and fiscal management,

29:14 national

29:15 and development planning.

29:17 Development of the conscious physical infrastructure,

29:20 land use,

29:22 as well as coastal

29:24 and zone planning

29:25 and management.

29:28 The Blue tourism resource portal also builds upon the work

29:32 of the Global Tourism Resilience and Crisis

29:35 Management Center,

29:36 which since its inception in 2019

29:40 has assumed a focal role

29:42 in coordinating and executing proactive interventions

29:46 geared towards promoting mitigation

29:49 and resilience

29:50 among destinations globally,

29:53 including

29:54 the development

29:55 of indicators to measure resilience.

29:58 Risk assessment,

29:59 mapping and planning,

30:01 promoting innovation systems for climate adaptation and resilience,

30:06 cross-border intelligence sharing.

30:09 Widespread training and education

30:11 to build capacity and promote behavioral modifications.

30:16 Developing a regional funding model

30:19 to coordinate regional responses

30:22 and developing urban resilience

30:24 as well as building meaningful

30:26 partnerships.

30:29 The Blue tourism resource portal

30:31 also builds upon the commitment

30:34 of the 16 member ocean panel 2030 goal

30:38 of ensuring

30:40 that coastal and ocean-based tourism

30:43 is sustainable.

30:45 Resilient,

30:46 addresses climate change,

30:48 reduces pollution,

30:50 supports ecosystem regeneration

30:53 and biodiversity conservation,

30:56 and also to invest in local jobs in the communities.

31:00 The spirit of this vision

31:02 was also reflected in the Ocean Panel Commission report

31:05 entitled

31:07 Opportunities for Transforming Coastal

31:09 and Marine Tourism.

31:11 Towards sustainable regeneration

31:14 and resilience,

31:15 this report

31:16 harnessed the perspectives of over 40 experts

31:20 to generate an exhaustive toolkit

31:23 on sustainable coastal and marine tourism,

31:26 generating a comprehensive understanding of marine

31:29 and coastal tourism across the world.

31:32 And showcasing the global scale and impact

31:36 of the opportunities and benefits

31:38 that can be realized

31:40 by transforming

31:41 the coastal

31:42 and marine

31:43 tourism industry.

31:46 To make the vision of sustainable tourism

31:48 a reality,

31:49 then

31:50 I take this opportunity to encourage all tourism stakeholders

31:54 to utilize the resources provided

31:57 through the Blue tourism

31:59 resource portal.

32:00 I will also

32:02 be reiterating

32:03 that the health and sustainability of our coastal and marine ecosystems

32:07 is critical

32:09 to the survival

32:10 of the tourism industry

32:12 and by extension

32:13 our planet.

32:15 In this regard,

32:17 The blue tourism resource portal constitutes an invaluable asset

32:21 that will serve as a catalyst,

32:23 thereby

32:24 engendering a sustainable tourism economy

32:27 by 2030.

32:30 Thank you.

32:35 So we see that Minister Bartlett's remarks,

32:38 very thoughtful remarks,

32:40 uh,

32:40 capture so nicely much of what we need

32:44 to create change at scale.

32:47 He says

32:48 to transition to a more sustainable ecosystem and economies,

32:53 we will need

32:54 new innovations,

32:56 best practices,

32:57 revised and.

32:58 New policies,

33:00 um,

33:00 and these to be adopted,

33:02 uh,

33:03 throughout the world,

33:04 um,

33:04 you know,

33:05 and this is what

33:06 this portal intends to do

33:09 to share the knowledge that exists and to build upon it so special thanks to Minister

33:14 Bartlett for his very thoughtful remarks.

33:17 So our first speaker today is Mr.

33:20 Osborne Chin.

33:22 Um,

33:22 Osborne is the tourism resilience and sustainability specialist,

33:27 um,

33:28 at the Ministry of Tourism in Jamaica.

33:31 Uh,

33:32 he has also served,

33:33 uh,

33:34 in the Ministry of Tourism as director of tourism facilitation,

33:38 and this is a new role that has been created,

33:41 and,

33:41 and,

33:41 um,

33:42 Osborne has been filling it for some time.

33:44 Mr.

33:45 Chin is also responsible for driving

33:47 the Ministry of Tourism sustainability portfolio

33:50 for the past decade,

33:52 so much experience there.

33:54 His work includes development of policies

33:56 and strategies focused on tourism resilience,

33:59 sustainable tourism,

34:00 environmental

34:01 stewardship,

34:02 climate change adaptation,

34:04 and disaster risk management.

34:06 Please join me in welcoming Osborne Chin.

34:10 Osborne,

34:10 the floor is yours.

34:13 Thank you so much,

34:14 Cellini.

34:14 Thank you so much for that.

34:15 Um,

34:16 a pleasant good morning

34:17 to

34:18 everybody,

34:18 to the organizers,

34:19 uh,

34:19 my fellow panelists and participants online.

34:22 As Cellini said,

34:23 my name is Osborne Chin,

34:24 and I'm the tourism resilience and sustainability specialist

34:27 in the Ministry of Tourism in Jamaica.

34:29 And I must say that Jamaica is truly honored and excited to

34:33 be a part of the launch of the Blue Tourism Resource portal.

34:36 Uh,

34:36 I believe that this event is very timely on World Tourism Day.

34:40 It is extremely,

34:41 extremely important.

34:43 So a special thanks to the World Bank team,

34:45 the Ocean Foundation and the

34:47 Tourism Action Coalition for Sustainable Ocean,

34:49 TAXO,

34:50 and all the other partners

34:51 for making this event a reality.

34:53 Um,

34:55 I just want to say that uh in highlighting what Minister Bartlett

34:59 said about the impacts of a changing climate on the global economy

35:03 and the urgent need to transition towards

35:05 a sector that is sustainable and one that

35:07 addresses the challenges of managing our scarce natural resources

35:11 and also aligning that with economic growth

35:14 uh and the preservation of our land and marine resources,

35:17 uh,

35:17 especially taking into consideration our

35:19 economic livelihoods and community development.

35:22 And so we see that the government of Jamaica is both aware

35:26 and prepared to address the impacts of climate change.

35:29 And so we have considered this

35:31 carefully,

35:32 both the consequences and we have developed the necessary policies

35:35 and strategies to treat with the challenge of climate change.

35:38 And so we,

35:40 the tourism industry,

35:41 we are certainly a part of the solution.

35:43 And so just to reiterate what the minister said

35:45 in his address that the establishment of this portal

35:48 is consistent with Jamaica's commitment.

35:51 To climate adaptation,

35:52 uh,

35:53 which I will speak to briefly in this presentation.

35:56 Can move into the,

35:57 into the presentation,

35:58 please.

36:01 Next slide please.

36:03 All right,

36:03 so we already know,

36:05 go back.

36:08 Right,

36:08 so we already know how significant this sector is to the global economy.

36:11 Um,

36:12 what we also know is that

36:14 tourism is extremely vulnerable and faces numerous challenges.

36:17 Uh,

36:18 just to put things into

36:19 context a little bit,

36:20 um,

36:20 in Jamaica,

36:21 for example,

36:22 90% of all of our tourism,

36:25 um,

36:25 room capacity

36:26 is found along the coastline,

36:28 and all of our major tourism destinations are also along the coastline.

36:32 So,

36:32 this level of dependency on the coastal resources for our tourism,

36:35 which by the way,

36:36 accounts for approximately

36:38 17% if you include,

36:40 uh,

36:40 the indirect,

36:41 the induced.

36:42 Um,

36:43 contributions.

36:44 This level of dependency also makes us extremely

36:46 vulnerable to the potential impacts that can arise.

36:49 Um,

36:49 and minister made mention of all of them,

36:51 coastal erosion,

36:52 sea level rise,

36:53 more powerful events.

36:55 And so the challenges that we face in tourism

36:57 are too many to mention here,

36:59 um,

36:59 but we could speak about things like

37:02 economic recessions and health emergencies such as the recent pandemic.

37:05 Uh,

37:06 Safety and security,

37:07 environmental degradation and pollution,

37:09 and the numerous disruptions and crises and shocks,

37:12 almost all of which in some way or another

37:15 are exacerbated by climate change.

37:17 And so we see that climate change is one of tourism's greatest challenge.

37:21 It's one of the world's greatest challenge,

37:23 and we must implement interventions.

37:25 To address this challenge.

37:28 Next slide,

37:28 please.

37:30 And so of course in the face of climate change,

37:32 there are two types of interventions that we must implement.

37:35 Uh,

37:35 firstly,

37:35 we must mitigate

37:37 to reduce our emissions and we must adapt

37:39 to cope with the impacts.

37:41 But despite our best efforts sometimes,

37:43 um,

37:43 to mitigate the reduction of emissions,

37:45 the impacts of climate change will always continue

37:48 to be manifested for decades to come.

37:51 Next slide please.

37:54 And so

37:55 adaptation measures are therefore necessary

37:58 right now in the immediate term to manage

38:00 the inevitable impacts and costs on the economy,

38:02 on the environment,

38:03 and of course on our society.

38:05 And so for us here in Jamaica,

38:07 adaptation is critical,

38:09 and this is particularly relevant with the increasing

38:11 effects that we're now seeing increased temperatures,

38:13 changes,

38:14 changes in rainfall patterns,

38:16 rising sea levels,

38:16 and more extreme events.

38:18 Cause right now,

38:19 as you see,

38:19 Jamaica was closely missed by,

38:21 by Hurricane Ian,

38:22 um,

38:22 which is now headed to the US

38:24 and so we see it,

38:25 you know,

38:26 very readily right now.

38:27 Uh,

38:28 but

38:29 regardless,

38:30 we must address this issue

38:33 both sustainably and comprehensively

38:35 in order for us to fulfill our current

38:37 national and sustainable development goals and aspirations.

38:41 Next slide,

38:41 please.

38:47 And so,

38:47 well,

38:47 our commitment to climate adaptation is very clear cut.

38:50 Um,

38:50 I'm not exactly seeing the things on the slide,

38:52 but

38:53 what we do

38:54 is one,

38:54 we do it,

38:55 uh,

38:55 by legislation and policy.

38:57 We do it,

38:58 um,

38:59 uh,

39:00 through creating an enabling environment for effective

39:02 implementation of projects that address the risks

39:05 and most importantly,

39:06 We focus on results-based monitoring and evaluation

39:09 to ensure that we hold ourselves accountable

39:11 for any real impact and real change.

39:14 And so in terms of our adaptation,

39:16 we have a lot going on here in Jamaica and at the Ministry of Tourism.

39:20 But at the policy level,

39:21 we have our vision 20,130 National Development Plan

39:24 that guides the country's long-term strategic development goals for achieving

39:28 inclusiveness,

39:29 sustainability and prosperity.

39:31 There's also a climate change policy framework for Jamaica,

39:35 which creates that enabling environment that I spoke about earlier

39:38 to facilitate the development and

39:39 the coordination and implementation of measures

39:42 to address the impacts of climate change.

39:45 And so

39:45 we recognize the risks that are posed by climate change and the need for

39:50 strengthened and coordinated adaptation responses.

39:52 And so the government is currently

39:53 implementing a project or the PPCR project.

39:56 Which is the pilot program for climate resilience,

39:59 um,

40:00 whose objective is to increase our resilience

40:02 through enhancing the

40:04 adaptive capacity across priority sectors.

40:08 Uh,

40:08 and so under this project,

40:10 a number of

40:11 risk assessments and vulnerability assessments were carried out as well as

40:15 a climate change adaptation strategy and plan for the tourism sector.

40:19 Well these were actually developed for 5 priority sectors,

40:22 um,

40:22 namely the coastal resources sector,

40:24 the water,

40:25 water sector,

40:26 health sector.

40:27 Human settlements and of course the tourism sector.

40:30 So for the climate and so for the vulnerability and risk assessments,

40:34 we looked at the

40:36 climate threats to the sector.

40:37 We also looked at

40:38 doing a detailed hazard assessment of the sector,

40:40 looking at specific hazards,

40:42 uh,

40:43 and then we did a vulnerability and risk assessment

40:45 that looked at the exposure for each of those specific hazards,

40:48 and this was done for all the 6 major destination areas across Jamaica.

40:52 And then finally,

40:53 the report

40:54 recommended.

40:55 Um,

40:56 some initiatives for further strengthening the sector's adaptive capacity.

41:00 The climate change adaptation plan provided the overall direction

41:03 and the guidance to the sector for prioritizing the initiatives

41:06 that we can use to help

41:08 tourism manage

41:09 and reduce the impacts of climate related risks,

41:12 whether those risks are forecasted or existing.

41:15 And also earlier this year,

41:16 we published the 2019 State of the Jamaican Climate Report,

41:20 which provides current climate information that will inform

41:23 resilience building efforts and allow for improved sector-based assessments

41:28 for resilient planning and decision making.

41:30 And this is the first time

41:31 um in doing these reports that a specific report for tourism

41:35 um was done.

41:36 Next slide,

41:37 please.

41:39 So at the sector-specific level,

41:41 uh,

41:41 as the minister said,

41:42 we have been working to mainstream climate

41:44 change and adapt climate change adaptation and mitigation

41:47 into our tourism policies,

41:49 plans and programs.

41:50 Uh,

41:51 Martha mentioned

41:52 earlier,

41:52 next slide please,

41:53 um,

41:54 how badly the sector

41:55 was impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

41:58 And so in an effort to recover,

42:00 the Ministry of Tourism embarked on a creative and innovative approach

42:03 to guarantee the safe recovery of the sector by developing.

42:07 As Minister Bartlett would say,

42:08 a world-class health and safety protocol

42:11 which included the establishment of

42:13 tourism resilient corridors,

42:14 which is a first of its kind in the world.

42:17 Additionally,

42:17 we have taken steps to ensure that tourism thrives in this,

42:21 in this post-COVID-19 era.

42:24 And the key to this

42:25 is the development of the ministry's new strategic plan for 2021 to 2025,

42:30 which is guided by the principles of the Blue Ocean strategy.

42:33 And the idea behind this strategic approach is

42:35 to make the sector more sustainable and resilient,

42:37 of course,

42:38 um,

42:39 while offering our visitors an unmatched value

42:42 proposition that is based on innovation,

42:44 diversification.

42:46 And most importantly,

42:47 differentiation from any other destination.

42:50 And so it aims to reduce the leakages and to support more inclusivity,

42:55 um,

42:55 especially in terms of our social and economic development.

42:59 Next slide,

43:00 please.

43:02 So briefly,

43:02 uh,

43:03 just to,

43:03 just to mention that

43:04 we're also working on developing

43:06 a new tourism strategy and action plan,

43:09 which is actually going to be an update

43:11 to our current master plan for sustainable tourism development,

43:14 and this is expected to.

43:16 To um consider new and emerging realities,

43:18 especially climate change impacts

43:21 and the need to increase our productivity and adapt

43:24 to the new technological advancements.

43:26 Uh,

43:26 we're also doing a destination assurance framework and strategy,

43:29 which is expected to be

43:31 the ministry's long-term strategy for continuous improvement

43:34 in our service delivery and quality assurance.

43:36 And this ensures that our tourism sector is authentic,

43:39 it is safe,

43:41 it is secure,

43:41 and it provides a seamless experience

43:44 that is respectful of the local community and the environment.

43:48 Um,

43:51 As a direct response to the blue tourism objectives,

43:54 uh,

43:54 our ministry is also developing a policy

43:57 on recreational water-based activities in Jamaica,

44:00 which will establish the overall

44:02 governance framework

44:03 for the sustainable development and management of

44:06 water-based recreational activities.

44:08 And this focuses on streamlining and modernizing.

44:11 Both the operational and the regulatory requirements of the sector

44:14 while addressing

44:15 four key areas of safety,

44:17 environmental management,

44:18 effective governance,

44:20 and enforcement.

44:22 Next slide,

44:23 please.

44:24 So quickly,

44:24 it is worth mentioning a few other

44:26 adaptation initiatives that we're currently undertaking,

44:30 um,

44:30 such as the development of a tourism risk register,

44:33 which aims to document and assess

44:35 all our current and potential risks through doing detailed risk assessments.

44:39 We've also prepared several guidelines and templates to assist our

44:43 tourism stakeholders in the preparation of disaster risk management plans

44:46 and business continuity plans,

44:48 and it would be remiss of me not to mention that the Ministry of Tourism,

44:51 after having gone through a restructuring exercise last year,

44:55 has now designated a dedicated officer

44:57 with responsibility for tourism resilience and sustainability.

45:00 This is a first in the Caribbean,

45:02 and this shows the commitment at the policy level

45:04 to institutionalize sustainability and resilience

45:07 into our organizational structure.

45:10 And so these are just a few of

45:11 the initiatives that Jamaica is currently working on towards

45:14 achieving a sustainable tourism economy.

45:16 I could also speak about our capacity building and how the sector,

45:20 um,

45:21 or stakeholders or tourism businesses and our and our

45:23 communities respond to the threat of climate change,

45:26 as well as how

45:27 tourism practices are,

45:28 are,

45:28 are affected by adaptation and mitigation measures,

45:32 and I truly believe that capacity building.

45:34 It is very important and it is not only the process

45:37 and means through which we develop and enhance our skills,

45:40 but it is also about increasing our knowledge.

45:43 It's also about utilizing

45:45 research,

45:45 development.

45:46 It's how we foster learning,

45:48 how we provide

45:49 supporting information to be able to access and to utilize quality data.

45:53 And most importantly,

45:54 it's about building

45:56 capacity at the institutional level and this ties back

45:59 directly with what we're trying to achieve here today with the Blue

46:02 um tourism resource portal.

46:04 So,

46:04 finally,

46:05 uh,

46:05 next slide,

46:06 I just want to use this opportunity to call on everyone here today

46:10 um to support the efforts towards building resilience and sustainability.

46:13 We all can inspire change and make a difference,

46:16 and so I implore you all to get involved,

46:19 whether you're a tourism destination,

46:21 whether you are a tourism business,

46:23 or even a student.

46:24 You can join the portal and you can become a Blue tourism partner.

46:27 Thank you very much.

46:30 Thank you so much,

46:31 Osborne.

46:32 Um,

46:32 it's so inspiring to see

46:34 your holistic approach,

46:37 um,

46:37 to climate and its impacts.

46:40 Uh,

46:40 I think

46:41 you know there's so much,

46:43 um,

46:43 that you've offered,

46:45 and I'm certain that our audience has many questions.

46:48 So take this moment please

46:51 to use that chat box and.

46:54 Points that you saw here

46:56 that you'd like to learn more about,

46:59 send us your questions,

47:00 but we see from this example

47:02 that people at the center of all of this

47:05 in the creation of this new position

47:08 that is the first of its kind in the Caribbean which

47:11 which Osborne fills,

47:13 um,

47:14 I,

47:14 I,

47:14 I'm sure you have enormous um

47:16 responsibilities on your shoulder.

47:18 Boulder here Osborne

47:20 um but then also

47:21 you know the need

47:23 to ensure that the

47:24 ecosystem of

47:27 organizations and leaders,

47:28 local leaders within

47:30 Jamaica

47:31 have the knowledge,

47:33 um,

47:33 and are acting as well so

47:36 wonderful,

47:36 um,

47:37 uh,

47:37 thoughts.

47:38 Thank you so much for

47:39 this,

47:40 uh,

47:40 great presentation,

47:41 Osborne.

47:42 Um,

47:43 with this,

47:44 we'd like to now introduce our second speaker.

47:47 Uh,

47:48 Doctor Megan Morikawa,

47:50 who is global sustainability office director at Ibiro Star,

47:55 and she's our second presenter here,

47:57 Doctor Morikawa leads the sustainability team

48:01 in scientific-driven actions for a sustainable

48:04 ocean economy and responsible tourism model.

48:08 Uh,

48:08 Ibiros Star plans to send no waste to landfill

48:13 and source all its.

48:14 Seafood

48:16 from responsible

48:17 sources by 2025

48:21 and to be carbon neutral in its operations and supply chain by 2030.

48:26 She serves on numerous foundations,

48:28 coalitions,

48:29 councils,

48:30 and networks to showcase lessons learned

48:32 in her company's wave of change movement

48:35 to inspire

48:37 private sector innovations.

48:39 Please welcome Dr.

48:40 Megan Marikawa.

48:43 Thank you so much Seleni,

48:44 and I'm excited to,

48:46 uh,

48:46 continue this dialogue from an industry perspective as well as

48:50 enter into the dialogue with Jeremy and Osborne to give a bit of

48:54 a picture of what it means to make this transition a reality,

48:57 and I think that that's exactly.

48:59 The word we should be thinking about and we're constantly evolving and

49:02 changing and and sometimes a guided transition can really help us to

49:07 work towards making tourism a force for good.

49:09 Um,

49:10 Iberoar is a Spanish-based family owned company that has

49:14 over 100 properties in 16 countries around the world,

49:17 mostly in the Caribbean and Mediterranean.

49:19 And 80% of our

49:21 properties are beachfront,

49:23 right?

49:23 So this is the fundamental core of the business.

49:26 It is the reason why

49:29 we have identified that exposure to extreme weather events,

49:32 uh,

49:33 climate.

49:33 Uh,

49:34 change and natural disasters is our number one risk to the business,

49:38 not only because of damages from

49:40 hurricanes and flooding and erosion,

49:43 but also increases in insurance prices to be able to ensure that our properties can

49:48 persist into the future.

49:49 And the family that owns this business is also from an island in Mallorca,

49:53 so it became very relevant for us to pursue this work.

49:57 Um,

49:58 I want to talk,

49:59 uh,

49:59 both as a,

50:00 a co-chair of the Tourism Action Coalition.

50:02 for a sustainable ocean along with Mark,

50:05 um,

50:05 and,

50:05 uh,

50:06 and,

50:06 and to really encourage us to find ways for us to

50:10 build platforms for pre-competitive collaboration and most importantly action.

50:15 This was

50:15 one of the focuses that we had in mind when talking about taxo and we're very excited

50:20 for,

50:20 uh,

50:21 the,

50:21 the blue tourism,

50:22 uh,

50:24 resources,

50:25 um,

50:25 to be on,

50:26 on a platform

50:28 available to build and,

50:29 and bring this knowledge together.

50:31 Um,

50:31 and as Seleni mentioned,

50:32 we have a focus on these very specific quantitative time bound objectives,

50:38 and,

50:38 uh,

50:38 while a lot of our focus right now has been

50:41 describing what we are doing in on climate mitigation,

50:44 I do wanna talk

50:45 about one of the resources that we have uploaded into,

50:49 uh,

50:49 the Blue tourism resource port.

50:51 which is our coastal health roadmap,

50:53 we have an objective that all ecosystems

50:55 that surround our properties are in improving

50:57 ecological health in the places that we operate by 2030.

51:01 And this resource we launched at the UN Ocean Conference in in Lisbon

51:06 earlier this year and is intended to both guide other tourism companies.

51:11 Demonstrate to the world how it is that we are thinking about

51:14 our work on coastal health and also give examples

51:18 of some of the time bound and quantitative objectives that

51:22 we would like the public to hold us accountable to

51:24 in order to achieve this goal of transitioning tourism

51:28 to remain resilient and and and to build adaptation

51:31 in our destinations and communities.

51:33 So if we go to the next slide,

51:34 I want to show a quick video that

51:36 describes the coastal health roadmap as an overview.

51:45 By 2030,

51:47 all coastal ecosystems in Averosar destinations will be an improving health

51:52 mangroves,

51:52 coral reefs,

51:53 dunes,

51:54 sea grasses,

51:55 and beyond,

51:56 helping nature thrive from the Caribbean to the Mediterranean.

52:00 Here's how we're doing it.

52:02 Working to reduce the impact of storms and hurricanes by harnessing

52:06 the incredible power of these ecosystems to shelter and our coasts.

52:11 Advancing towards carbon neutrality by 2030 through protecting coastal

52:14 ecosystems so that they help us mitigate climate change.

52:19 Enhancing the tourism experience through maximizing beach and water quality,

52:24 improving the well-being of guests,

52:26 employees,

52:26 and residents with green spaces.

52:30 Fostering resilient communities by enabling guests to discover new

52:33 places with those that have known them for generations.

52:36 This is our commitment and our promise to

52:38 a world where nature thrives alongside people.

52:49 So if we go into the next slide,

52:50 the coastal health roadmap details what our various KPIs

52:55 and objectives are for these 5 business cases,

52:58 as we call them,

52:59 and why we think all coastal tourism businesses should be integrating

53:03 the building of resilience,

53:05 the protection of coastal ecosystems,

53:07 and

53:08 the integration of coastal communities as part of their bottom line,

53:13 because,

53:13 as Osborne mentioned and.

53:15 And as,

53:17 as we can see very clearly,

53:18 the future of tourism depends on our ability to be able to remain resilient

53:23 in,

53:23 in these destinations for generations to come.

53:27 I want to dive into two specific examples,

53:30 but again I encourage you to take a look at the coastal health road map to see

53:34 more details about the work,

53:36 uh,

53:36 that it is that we're doing in,

53:37 in,

53:38 in three of the other business cases that we've said,

53:40 but the first one,

53:42 has to do with meeting our carbon neutrality goal by 2030,

53:46 um,

53:46 and,

53:46 uh,

53:47 this.

53:47 Particular is linked to our decarbonization strategy where Iberasar

53:52 is working very heavily to reduce the

53:56 emissions that come from our direct operations.

53:58 In fact,

53:59 we

53:59 were just validated by SBTI for our ambition to decarbonize

54:04 85% of the emissions in our Scope One and Two.

54:07 Uh,

54:08 in over 8 years across,

54:09 uh,

54:10 across all of our destinations,

54:12 many of whom are in transition for renewable energy transitions,

54:16 um,

54:16 and to have emissions that come from our supply chain,

54:18 including our purchased goods and services,

54:21 our constructions

54:22 and any of the services that are considered a part of our offer,

54:26 um,

54:26 as tourism.

54:28 But with all of that ambition by 2030,

54:30 we still expect to have a roughly 500,000 metric ton carbon footprint,

54:35 most of that,

54:36 96% of that,

54:37 coming from our supply chain,

54:39 um,

54:39 and,

54:39 and so we want to work on,

54:41 uh,

54:41 ensuring that in the process of reaching carbon neutrality

54:45 we can really invest in the protection

54:48 and restoration of nature in our destinations.

54:50 And if we go to the next slide,

54:52 I think this is a very obvious model for many of us who are part of this.

54:56 that nature-based compensation will play a critical role in climate mitigation,

55:01 but there are other benefits that also directly benefit our sector,

55:05 the tourism sector,

55:06 that really allow us to think

55:08 creatively about how investing in protecting nature

55:12 with a driver of climate mitigation also

55:15 allows us to unlock additional benefits for

55:18 other nature-based solutions and ecosystem services that

55:22 come from the protection of these ecosystems.

55:24 So in the next slide,

55:26 what we're doing at Iberoar is first determining,

55:29 um,

55:29 and sorry the text got small there,

55:31 but we're determining um a model that best benefits tourism

55:35 where we can prioritize benefits to biodiversity and communities alongside

55:39 with the carbon sequestration potential

55:42 and importantly,

55:43 since we aim to offset emissions mostly from our supply chain,

55:46 we want to ensure that the investment considers

55:48 strong measurement but favors action to multiply impact.

55:52 This is primarily because we could invest endlessly to try and measure the

55:57 carbon that is in a single apple that's used in our operations,

56:00 um,

56:01 or we could distribute that investment to

56:04 make sure that we have approximate estimate

56:06 of the carbon that's the embodied carbon in our purchased goods and services,

56:10 and also use that investment to then

56:13 look at restorative and regenerative tourism

56:15 through our nature-based sequestration program.

56:18 And if we go to the next slide,

56:20 um,

56:20 we have detailed and specific objectives that include reaching up

56:24 to around 500,000 metric tons of carbon sequestration by 2030,

56:28 with year over year targets that you can see in more detail in the resource,

56:32 as well as an estimated up to 22,000 hectares of sustainably managed

56:36 ecosystems in destinations where the protection of this nature is most important.

56:42 If we go to the next slide,

56:43 I want to also dive into a second of

56:45 these business cases which really focuses on climate adaptation,

56:48 focus on reducing risk derived from climate change impacts

56:52 by implementing nature-based solutions um in our destinations.

56:56 In the next slide,

56:57 I think we've outlined and we've seen very directly that in addition to

57:00 beach erosion and flooding from slower and more severe extreme weather events,

57:05 sargassum removal and other practices exacerbates beach quality.

57:09 And at the same time,

57:10 the insurance premiums against natural disasters has risen

57:14 to our number one single operative expense.

57:17 From a single provider for our properties nearly doubling

57:20 in the last 4 years really demonstrating this business case

57:24 but as you can see very clearly from this image,

57:27 uh,

57:27 this is,

57:27 this is a huge issue in order for us to ensure that we can maintain our coastlines,

57:32 maintain our properties,

57:33 and maintain the product,

57:35 uh,

57:35 the beach and the ocean,

57:37 um,

57:37 for our clients.

57:38 If we go to the next slide,

57:39 we're already starting to see

57:41 that there are examples where when we have coastal ecosystem buffers

57:45 we see less damage in in some of our properties.

57:48 You can see a range

57:49 of damages from the same hurricane event in 2020 if I'm remembering correctly,

57:55 um,

57:55 which hit our properties in in the Riviera Maya in Mexico.

57:59 And so as a response we've designed our

58:02 programs that focus on coastal ecosystems including dunes,

58:05 mangroves,

58:06 and primarily coral reef ecosystems

58:08 to allow us to build protection and resilience in many of these,

58:13 in these,

58:13 in these key ecosystems.

58:15 Um,

58:16 when,

58:16 uh,

58:17 so Lenny had mentioned this science-based approach,

58:19 we think it's absolutely critical,

58:21 especially when a business is working to engage in coastal protection,

58:25 uh,

58:25 that we take a three-pronged approach.

58:27 So in the next slide,

58:28 um,

58:28 we really,

58:29 uh,

58:30 invest in looking at the research,

58:32 the management planning,

58:33 and then ultimately transforming that into operations.

58:35 We do this

58:36 both internally by expanding the team.

58:39 I now

58:39 work with a team of over 25 signed.

58:41 Scientists and researchers and experts to help

58:44 us devise strategy and implement solutions,

58:46 all of whom have come from other sectors,

58:49 academia

58:50 and the NGO and public sector,

58:52 um,

58:52 to help us to implement this sort of

58:54 work within the research and management planning,

58:56 but we also work very closely with partners,

58:58 um,

58:59 externally,

58:59 uh,

59:00 from the academic,

59:01 um,

59:02 institutions in our destinations as well as NGO partners

59:05 to do this research and management planning.

59:08 And then ultimately we see this as our duty to implement this into operations.

59:13 Um,

59:13 some examples where we can see that realized if we go to the next slide,

59:17 um,

59:17 was in order to facilitate this research we constructed

59:20 a coral lab within one of our properties.

59:22 This is in the Dominican Republic,

59:24 and

59:24 this lab not only allows our guests and employees to get a sense of

59:30 what actually the nature is surrounding these areas and and why it's so valuable.

59:34 for us to protect them.

59:36 um,

59:36 but we also know,

59:37 and this is based off of work that I had also done in my PhD,

59:40 that any reef restoration

59:43 project could be wiped out in the span of months

59:46 with future bleaching events if we don't also prepare to

59:50 selectively

59:51 use the winners,

59:53 expected winners of,

59:54 of climate change,

59:55 um,

59:56 in those operations.

59:57 And so we've built a state of the art,

59:59 uh,

59:59 research facility where.

1:00:00 We can recreate climate,

1:00:02 um,

1:00:02 events and actually find and unveil those winners before bleaching events occur

1:00:06 and then disproportionately use them,

1:00:08 um,

1:00:08 in our restoration operations while maintaining an important level

1:00:12 of both within species diversity and across species diversity,

1:00:16 uh,

1:00:17 in our work.

1:00:18 Um,

1:00:18 and if we go to the next slide,

1:00:20 this is something that we're expanding across all of

1:00:23 the destinations where we identify that coastal ecosystem.

1:00:26 Can play a role

1:00:28 in reducing risk derived from climate impacts

1:00:32 and and uh we're also very thrilled to be doing this work in Montego Bay

1:00:37 alongside Seascape Caribbean but also working

1:00:39 with the government to see if we can establish

1:00:42 a new marine sanctuary right in front of our property

1:00:45 where the local fishing community that are

1:00:47 living right next to us are actually converting

1:00:50 their daytime jobs to become wardens.

1:00:53 And coral restoration technicians within our,

1:00:55 uh,

1:00:56 within the sanctuary and then moving their fishing

1:00:59 grounds to the boundaries of the sanctuary.

1:01:00 Some examples of these public and private collaborations.

1:01:04 We also have time-bound objectives for all of these goals,

1:01:07 and you could see that in the last slide,

1:01:08 um,

1:01:09 where we get into much more detail about what specifically where we are

1:01:14 measuring and how we plan to collectively

1:01:17 increase these objectives year over year.

1:01:19 And again,

1:01:19 these are just two of the business cases that

1:01:21 demonstrate further one of the resources that is in

1:01:25 the Blue tourism resource portal that we encourage you and other businesses

1:01:29 to take a look at to be inspired on how they can

1:01:33 bring coastal restoration and coastal protection.

1:01:37 Into their business models to really build their resilience and ability to be able

1:01:42 to confront some of the major risks that we see for our businesses like

1:01:46 climate change and biodiversity loss which increasingly

1:01:50 we're working to transform that business model

1:01:53 to be able to effectively integrate.

1:01:55 Thank you.

1:01:57 Thank you so much Megan for this very

1:02:00 sort of comprehensive overview um in a snapshot too

1:02:04 format um of your climate action.

1:02:07 It's,

1:02:07 it's very inspiring,

1:02:08 um,

1:02:09 and it's great to see

1:02:10 how you're modeling responsible tourism as well and inviting and encouraging,

1:02:15 um,

1:02:16 others within.

1:02:17 Uh,

1:02:17 the tourism industry to really sort of learn from you and to contact you,

1:02:21 you know,

1:02:22 to,

1:02:22 to be a part of,

1:02:23 of this movement.

1:02:23 So thank you so much for,

1:02:25 um,

1:02:26 for your presentation.

1:02:27 Now again,

1:02:28 I will ask if there are questions I saw a few pop up for Megan.

1:02:33 Continue adding your questions please as we go along.

1:02:37 Um,

1:02:37 and now we would like to welcome Jeremy Samson,

1:02:41 who's executive,

1:02:42 uh,

1:02:43 chief executive officer at the Travel Foundation.

1:02:46 He's also chairman of the Future of Tourism Coalition,

1:02:49 which I'm sure many of us have heard about and are a part of.

1:02:53 Jeremy was instrumental in setting up the,

1:02:56 uh,

1:02:56 tourism,

1:02:57 the future of.

1:02:58 Tourism coalition in 2020,

1:03:01 so this is all during COVID.

1:03:03 These are the great things,

1:03:04 some of the great things that came about right as we sort of reset.

1:03:09 He's currently serves as chair of this global movement.

1:03:13 Um,

1:03:13 it represents 6 NGOs and more than 700 signatories.

1:03:18 He,

1:03:18 uh,

1:03:18 is also a.

1:03:19 Author of the Glasgow Declaration on Climate Action

1:03:23 and Tourism

1:03:25 launched at COP 26 in Scotland,

1:03:28 um,

1:03:28 and this is an initiative of the Travel Foundation as well as the UNWTO.

1:03:33 They're co-leads on this.

1:03:34 In his current role at,

1:03:36 uh,

1:03:37 the non at this nonprofit,

1:03:39 Jeremy oversees a global team.

1:03:41 Uh,

1:03:41 he has positioned the organization as a

1:03:45 leading international NGO in the tourism sector.

1:03:48 Prior to his post in 2019,

1:03:51 he's worked at the IUCN Center for Mediterranean Cooperation in Spain,

1:03:56 where he helped launch the Meet Network,

1:03:59 which is a destination management association

1:04:02 for protected areas

1:04:03 in Europe and North Africa.

1:04:06 He's also served as president of the

1:04:08 international tour operator Green Spot Travel.

1:04:11 Um,

1:04:12 so,

1:04:12 uh,

1:04:13 I would like to now turn the mic over to Jeremy for his presentation.

1:04:18 Jeremy,

1:04:18 warm welcome.

1:04:20 Thank you,

1:04:21 Seleni,

1:04:21 and it's so nice to be here on World Tourism Day with all of you.

1:04:25 Um,

1:04:26 and of course,

1:04:27 uh my fellow panelists,

1:04:28 um,

1:04:28 Osborne and,

1:04:29 and Megan.

1:04:29 It was great to hear you guys,

1:04:31 um,

1:04:32 present first and have the opportunity to,

1:04:35 to follow up with some thoughts from my side.

1:04:37 Um,

1:04:38 I'm very excited also for the launch of this,

1:04:40 um,

1:04:41 uh,

1:04:41 Blue tourism resource portal and to,

1:04:44 uh,

1:04:44 talk about today what we believe is an innovative

1:04:46 new resource that we're still refining a bit,

1:04:48 but

1:04:49 very happy to contribute to this resource and to share with all of you.

1:04:53 Osborne referred to destination challenges that are,

1:04:56 are so familiar to,

1:04:58 to many of us and yet it's really

1:05:00 Um,

1:05:00 encouraging to see all the innovation that's,

1:05:03 that's happening in this space in,

1:05:04 in so many places around the world.

1:05:06 Megan,

1:05:07 um,

1:05:07 referred to,

1:05:09 uh,

1:05:09 the transition that Iberos Star is,

1:05:11 is helping in many ways

1:05:13 to,

1:05:13 to lead and,

1:05:14 and pointing the way for all of us.

1:05:16 Uh,

1:05:16 we're at a moment here where we're

1:05:18 talking about words like adaptation and transformation because

1:05:22 And on this World Tourism Day,

1:05:23 I think it's important for us all to,

1:05:25 to sit back and think business as usual

1:05:27 is no longer viable given the changing paradigm and,

1:05:30 and deepening crises that are facing us

1:05:33 around the climate emergency and inequity in our global and tourism economies.

1:05:38 So,

1:05:38 it's really nice to have some practical tools and,

1:05:41 and,

1:05:41 uh,

1:05:42 um,

1:05:42 and,

1:05:42 and,

1:05:43 and thinking around how we can collaborate and work together in a meaningful way to,

1:05:48 to move forward from a business as usual paradigm.

1:05:51 If you're gonna move to the next slide,

1:05:52 please.

1:05:56 So,

1:05:57 destinations are,

1:05:58 are facing complex challenges,

1:05:59 again,

1:06:00 that many of us are aware of,

1:06:01 but that require

1:06:03 um them to understand the,

1:06:05 the impacts

1:06:06 of tourism in order to address those challenges

1:06:09 and to understand them more deeply than,

1:06:10 than ever before.

1:06:12 From climate change to cost of living crises,

1:06:15 to labor

1:06:16 shortages,

1:06:17 to damaging visitor behaviors and

1:06:20 More importantly,

1:06:20 each destination is trying to figure out how to get these impacts into balance with,

1:06:25 of course,

1:06:25 the,

1:06:26 the positive impacts and,

1:06:27 and,

1:06:27 and opportunities that tourism brings to our destinations,

1:06:31 and to prioritize the most critical areas within their own context,

1:06:35 given future risk and opportunity and

1:06:37 the necessary trade-offs that must be made at,

1:06:39 at a,

1:06:40 at a time where we are facing,

1:06:42 um,

1:06:42 you know,

1:06:42 sort of increasing,

1:06:43 uh,

1:06:44 uh,

1:06:44 increasing crises.

1:06:46 And importantly,

1:06:46 through initiatives like the Glasgow Declaration,

1:06:49 I'm trying,

1:06:50 we're trying to ensure that the big issues are not treated in a silo,

1:06:53 as

1:06:54 they often have been before,

1:06:56 but truly become a lens for decision making.

1:07:00 Next slide.

1:07:05 We all know that DMOs,

1:07:06 um,

1:07:07 and,

1:07:07 and those leading destinations are

1:07:09 making transitions and increasingly exploring

1:07:12 how to ensure that they have the,

1:07:14 the mandate and the skills,

1:07:16 um,

1:07:16 and,

1:07:17 uh,

1:07:17 and,

1:07:17 and the sort of organizational,

1:07:19 uh,

1:07:20 structure to be able to deliver on,

1:07:22 on a changing,

1:07:23 uh,

1:07:23 paradigm.

1:07:25 Um,

1:07:25 and,

1:07:25 in many ways,

1:07:26 this whole conversation about transition

1:07:28 within destination management has been underpinned

1:07:31 by this concept of moving from volume to value.

1:07:35 Um,

1:07:35 I,

1:07:35 I happen to,

1:07:37 um,

1:07:37 take,

1:07:38 uh,

1:07:38 take issue a bit with this concept of,

1:07:41 of volume to value.

1:07:43 Um,

1:07:43 although the,

1:07:44 uh,

1:07:44 on the surface,

1:07:45 I think the math works,

1:07:46 um,

1:07:47 and,

1:07:48 and we can,

1:07:49 it's really easy to think,

1:07:50 OK,

1:07:50 in places that are crowded,

1:07:51 we will,

1:07:52 we'll simply,

1:07:53 um,

1:07:53 bring less people and,

1:07:54 and ensure that they are spending less money.

1:07:56 Uh,

1:07:57 or sorry,

1:07:57 and spending more money,

1:07:58 of course.

1:07:59 But the,

1:07:59 while the math may work on the surface,

1:08:01 I,

1:08:01 I think it's far too oversimplified and,

1:08:04 and this concept of value,

1:08:05 which

1:08:06 in many ways is the right sentiment,

1:08:08 requires a whole lot more nuance.

1:08:11 We have to ask questions like value for whom?

1:08:14 Who actually defines value in the first place,

1:08:16 and if we don't apply an equity lens,

1:08:18 or better yet,

1:08:19 diversity,

1:08:19 equity and inclusion,

1:08:20 how can we possibly know if that value is actually being distributed

1:08:23 in a fair and inclusive manner?

1:08:25 And how do we know if value in in some senses

1:08:27 is harming critical resources or creating

1:08:30 unnecessary burdens on vulnerable places?

1:08:34 DMOs increasingly are looking for

1:08:36 new measures beyond traditional economic indicators

1:08:39 that have been focused on year on year growth.

1:08:42 And we know that destinations and

1:08:45 their stakeholders are looking for tools to get a handle on the current situation

1:08:49 and understand what levers they can pull um to begin to make,

1:08:53 help to make this shift and redefine what success looks like.

1:08:58 Next slide.

1:09:01 I think in many ways,

1:09:02 there are several ways to undergo this analysis,

1:09:05 but the most critical one,

1:09:06 I believe,

1:09:07 is getting stakeholders to align what are often disparate agendas

1:09:11 and,

1:09:11 and go through a negotiation process to

1:09:13 understand what their shared agenda looks like

1:09:15 for redefining value and ultimately

1:09:18 redefining success based around the goals and objectives

1:09:20 that they can most easily align on.

1:09:23 And to work together as a destination ecosystem towards collective action,

1:09:27 as Megan mentioned in her presentation,

1:09:29 pre-competitive

1:09:30 collaboration.

1:09:31 Um,

1:09:32 we have also identified this concept alongside capacity building as two of the,

1:09:37 the most critical,

1:09:38 uh,

1:09:39 efforts that are needed to move away from business as usual.

1:09:42 And a stakeholder engagement approach to help everyone,

1:09:46 as we say,

1:09:46 see the whole picture,

1:09:47 which is the first guiding principle of the future of tourism coalition,

1:09:51 is key

1:09:52 to identifying the priorities for real change.

1:09:55 We also know that destinations

1:09:57 and those who lead them,

1:09:59 it's easy to go in many different directions and,

1:10:01 and sometimes not even know where to start.

1:10:02 So,

1:10:03 having a tool to see the whole picture,

1:10:05 where things may be out of balance and where to focus,

1:10:08 um,

1:10:08 we believe is,

1:10:09 um,

1:10:09 is a helpful contribution to this very challenging,

1:10:13 uh,

1:10:13 dilemma.

1:10:14 Next slide.

1:10:17 So,

1:10:17 in order to try to address this,

1:10:19 um,

1:10:19 this sticky challenge,

1:10:21 um,

1:10:21 we've created a,

1:10:22 a strategic approach that we're calling the optimal value framework,

1:10:26 um,

1:10:26 which can be used to help destination stakeholders work together to

1:10:30 do 3 things.

1:10:32 Number 1,

1:10:32 understand and optimize the value of tourism for their community.

1:10:36 2,

1:10:37 agree on more balanced measures of success,

1:10:39 and 3,

1:10:41 prioritize the impact areas most important for

1:10:43 them to manage carefully and resource sufficiently.

1:10:47 The framework helps to identify the strategic levers that increase the benefits

1:10:51 and minimize the costs or negative impacts of tourism to destinations.

1:10:56 It's centered on the values or contributions that tourism

1:10:59 can offer or can detract from a destination,

1:11:03 including economic,

1:11:04 environmental,

1:11:05 cultural,

1:11:06 societal,

1:11:07 individual,

1:11:07 and mental,

1:11:08 with each having the potential to contribute

1:11:10 positively or negatively depending on the context.

1:11:14 Next slide.

1:11:16 We've designed the optimal value framework

1:11:18 as a way for destination stakeholders to

1:11:20 work together in defining what outcomes they most want tourism to deliver.

1:11:24 This is the question we like to pose at the center of that conversation.

1:11:28 Why do they want tourism?

1:11:29 Tourism indeed is a choice.

1:11:32 So what challenges are they most concerned about?

1:11:34 How is tourism either exacerbating problems and

1:11:37 failing to deliver on community values,

1:11:39 or contributing towards those broader goals?

1:11:42 And what future risks to achieving those goals exist at the heart.

1:11:46 Next slide.

1:11:49 A thorough analysis of the current situation against an impact

1:11:53 framework that we've overlaid on this optimal value framework,

1:11:56 and which is aligned with the future of tourism coalition guiding principles,

1:12:00 where possible based on data that's available,

1:12:02 um,

1:12:03 can help to really inform key action recommendations.

1:12:06 And ultimately,

1:12:07 having completed this analysis,

1:12:08 it results in a set of recommendations for better optimizing

1:12:12 the value of tourism and destinations.

1:12:14 Our hope is for this,

1:12:16 these considerations to be considered in broader planning

1:12:19 efforts and reflected on when analyzing new initiatives.

1:12:22 It can also result in a set of indicators,

1:12:24 including thresholds or early warning signals for

1:12:27 destinations to use as a monitoring tool.

1:12:31 Next slide.

1:12:33 The Travel Foundation team and partners have been working through this model

1:12:37 in various destinations from Tenerife and

1:12:39 the Canary Islands to England's Peak District

1:12:42 to Vail,

1:12:42 Colorado,

1:12:43 customizing and refining the approach along the way,

1:12:46 and I expect that we'll continue to do so.

1:12:49 In Vail,

1:12:49 we have worked throughout this past year as part of

1:12:51 a project team on a destination stewardship planning process,

1:12:55 using the stakeholder engagement opportunities including

1:12:58 public meetings,

1:12:59 small discussion groups,

1:13:00 focus groups,

1:13:01 workshops,

1:13:01 and surveys to really hone in on those priorities and key opportunities

1:13:06 for Vail to better optimize the value of tourism,

1:13:09 become a more balanced destination

1:13:11 where negative impacts are minimized and positive

1:13:14 benefits are maximized.

1:13:16 Next.

1:13:19 Priorities in Vil center around environmental and social values.

1:13:23 The destination and it's um

1:13:25 uh uh the town of Vail and,

1:13:27 and its stakeholders have really actually worked quite hard over the last years

1:13:31 towards a sustainability certification to the mountain ideal standard,

1:13:35 and yet still sees many of these key areas out of balance.

1:13:39 From a social perspective,

1:13:40 their resident access and satisfaction is struggling due to

1:13:44 cost of living that is sky-high,

1:13:46 housing and workforce shortage,

1:13:48 um,

1:13:48 shortages and crises,

1:13:50 resulting in overall declining livability.

1:13:53 Energy use is outsized for a small community due to its tourism economy,

1:13:57 which relies on a large,

1:13:58 large scale snowmelt system for clearing roadways

1:14:01 and its free transportation system,

1:14:03 which is um helping to increase emissions.

1:14:06 Next slide.

1:14:09 The health of Val's only watershed is central to its identity

1:14:12 as a tourism destination and as a community for residents.

1:14:16 And that watershed is increasingly threatened by

1:14:19 increasing impacts from tourism and from

1:14:22 um outside

1:14:23 uh outside threats such as climate change.

1:14:26 So,

1:14:26 we're developing indicators and early warning signals around

1:14:29 climate action and watershed protection to focus on

1:14:32 um how Vil can achieve a more balanced system,

1:14:35 and we're advocating for watershed health to become a

1:14:37 key lens for decision making in future plans.

1:14:40 For example,

1:14:41 um,

1:14:41 the destination,

1:14:42 as many destinations are when facing uh a change,

1:14:46 shifting,

1:14:46 rapidly shifting weather patterns,

1:14:49 um,

1:14:49 and,

1:14:49 uh,

1:14:50 you know,

1:14:50 seasonality that,

1:14:51 that seems to

1:14:52 Moving around,

1:14:53 many destinations are now exploring diversification strategies.

1:14:56 Great,

1:14:57 that makes sense.

1:14:58 But if the,

1:14:58 the only analysis on return on investment

1:15:00 for those diversification strategies is economic,

1:15:03 then we're sort of missing the point.

1:15:05 At the end of the day,

1:15:06 the impact on the watershed also must be crucial

1:15:09 to that decision-making process.

1:15:13 Uh,

1:15:14 last line.

1:15:17 With current discussions around volume to value or

1:15:20 building back better,

1:15:21 which if you've heard me speak before,

1:15:23 I,

1:15:23 I'd like to say it's quite an empty platitude.

1:15:26 It's not a bad sentiment,

1:15:27 but there's really an opportunity for destination stakeholders

1:15:30 to define value together and better together,

1:15:33 not solely from an economic perspective,

1:15:34 but

1:15:35 ensuring that conservation and community well-being

1:15:38 values are also defined and prioritized to achieve balance

1:15:42 in a tourism economy that's optimized for better outcomes.

1:15:45 Destinations can work on so many initiatives in sustainability and regeneration.

1:15:50 We,

1:15:51 we've heard all the terms,

1:15:52 but still be out of balance.

1:15:54 So,

1:15:54 a process that helps to identify key signals of a destination's overall health,

1:15:58 which can be turned into a,

1:15:59 a monitoring tool that can help

1:16:01 destination stakeholders prioritize,

1:16:04 drive their investment in stewardship activities,

1:16:07 and ultimately define areas for innovation with private sector partners,

1:16:10 and we believe is an important contribution

1:16:13 to this overall pathway

1:16:15 to better destination management.

1:16:17 Thank you very much and looking forward to the rest of the discussion.

1:16:20 Thank you so much Jeremy for offering up

1:16:23 this new approach to engaging all stakeholders um

1:16:28 in new ways to find better balance,

1:16:31 balance and also optimal value

1:16:34 as defined

1:16:36 not by one

1:16:37 but all stakeholder groups.

1:16:39 So,

1:16:39 um,

1:16:40 a very lovely example that you have there.

1:16:42 So now we're going to get into um uh the discussion

1:16:47 um segment.

1:16:49 So again just a reminder,

1:16:50 put your questions please um into the chat box.

1:16:53 I'd like to maybe go straight into some of the key elements that each of your

1:17:00 uh presentations covered and dig a little bit deeper.

1:17:03 So let's start with Megan.

1:17:05 Um,

1:17:05 Megan,

1:17:06 you know,

1:17:06 there's your science-based targets are very clear,

1:17:10 um,

1:17:11 and I wonder if through your experience,

1:17:15 um,

1:17:15 you've seen

1:17:17 many misperceptions about carbon neutrality.

1:17:20 What would you say is one of the

1:17:22 biggest misperceptions that the industry has about carbon,

1:17:27 um,

1:17:27 neutrality?

1:17:30 It's a great question,

1:17:31 Lenny.

1:17:32 I think ultimately the

1:17:35 the drive to put a price on carbon is what carbon neutrality exists to be able to do.

1:17:41 A great example is that when we

1:17:43 said that we wanted to achieve carbon neutrality across what we

1:17:46 estimated to be a 1 million metric ton footprint by 2030,

1:17:51 right,

1:17:51 it puts a business case to us being able to say,

1:17:55 do we want to in 2030 with our business growth spend

1:17:59 the Number of tons times the price of carbon to offset per ton,

1:18:02 which is probably going to be around $200 per ton by 2030,

1:18:07 right,

1:18:07 which is a massive business case to be able to put a number

1:18:11 on the price of carbon.

1:18:12 And for us we use carbon neutrality as that driver to be able to say

1:18:15 how do we think about a business case to internalize some of these externalities,

1:18:20 right?

1:18:20 But in reality when you're,

1:18:22 when you're looking at how SBTI defines it

1:18:24 or how greenhouse gas protocol asks different.

1:18:28 Kinds of sectors to measure their carbon footprint,

1:18:31 it becomes very complicated very quickly because you get into these

1:18:34 really clear technicalities of what you should include in scope,

1:18:38 what you should include outside of scope.

1:18:40 An example for us in tourism is most of our emissions that come from our supply chain,

1:18:44 and our supply chain includes things that we don't control,

1:18:47 right,

1:18:48 up to 5 to 6 times removed primary producers that

1:18:51 ultimately are really hard for us to be able to,

1:18:54 to influence or manage,

1:18:56 right?

1:18:56 It's part of our carbon footprint because

1:18:58 we're defining that very holistically and broadly,

1:19:01 and yet another business may choose to just focus on their direct emissions as what

1:19:05 they're calling as their footprint and what they want to use as carbon neutrality.

1:19:08 So I think carbon neutrality can be a tricky subject to engage in,

1:19:13 but in essence,

1:19:14 I think it is intended to give you a business case,

1:19:17 make you think about measurement,

1:19:18 and make you think about decarbonizing to the most

1:19:21 positive impact that you can in our destinations,

1:19:23 which is the approach we're trying to take at Iberostar.

1:19:27 Thank you for that

1:19:29 very on target.

1:19:31 um,

1:19:31 so Jeremy,

1:19:32 you've mentioned balance quite a bit in your presentation.

1:19:36 It seems like a fundamental concept of

1:19:38 this optimal value framework that you've shared

1:19:41 details with us about um,

1:19:44 how

1:19:44 do you define balance

1:19:46 and most importantly,

1:19:48 how can destinations maintain this balance

1:19:52 over time?

1:19:53 Mhm.

1:19:54 Yeah,

1:19:55 well,

1:19:55 it's not up to me to define balance actually.

1:19:57 It's up to the destination stakeholders to define that balance for themselves.

1:20:02 And actually,

1:20:02 I think that's one of the challenges,

1:20:05 you know,

1:20:05 there's nothing wrong with

1:20:06 universal frameworks that help to,

1:20:09 to,

1:20:09 um,

1:20:10 to start that discussion and sort of lay out the,

1:20:12 the full picture.

1:20:14 Um,

1:20:14 but it is for destinations to arrive at that,

1:20:17 uh,

1:20:17 at that,

1:20:18 uh,

1:20:18 at that decision,

1:20:19 uh,

1:20:20 through a,

1:20:20 a,

1:20:20 a process of consultation

1:20:22 and negotiation and engagement.

1:20:24 I,

1:20:25 I,

1:20:25 I'm under no illusion that that's an easy thing to do.

1:20:28 Um,

1:20:29 but I,

1:20:29 I think what,

1:20:30 uh,

1:20:31 uh,

1:20:31 I,

1:20:32 I,

1:20:32 I think first of all,

1:20:32 it's,

1:20:33 it's really critical that,

1:20:34 that destinations are together identifying what,

1:20:37 um,

1:20:38 You know,

1:20:39 this question,

1:20:40 what,

1:20:40 what do we want from tourism?

1:20:42 What,

1:20:42 what is most important for us,

1:20:44 um,

1:20:44 to achieve,

1:20:45 and what,

1:20:45 what is it that is most important that we protect

1:20:48 and use that to define the goals.

1:20:50 Um,

1:20:51 balance can then,

1:20:52 um,

1:20:52 help,

1:20:53 uh,

1:20:53 uh,

1:20:53 you know,

1:20:54 can be defined by,

1:20:55 uh,

1:20:55 what,

1:20:56 what is it that is going to allow,

1:20:58 um,

1:20:58 the destination over time to Achieve those,

1:21:00 those broader goals and objectives.

1:21:02 Um,

1:21:03 but that,

1:21:03 that's a conversation that needs to be had,

1:21:06 uh,

1:21:06 and needs to be had in a,

1:21:08 in a way that actually,

1:21:09 um,

1:21:10 I think brings out some of the,

1:21:12 the tough conversations because it is ultimately about trade-offs,

1:21:16 um,

1:21:16 at the end of the day.

1:21:17 There is no perfect

1:21:19 solution,

1:21:19 there is no perfect formula.

1:21:21 There are trade-offs that ultimately need to be made and it's not up to one

1:21:25 individual

1:21:26 stakeholder to make that decision.

1:21:28 So,

1:21:29 the way that balance ultimately can be maintained,

1:21:31 I think there are two things.

1:21:33 Um,

1:21:34 well,

1:21:34 there's many,

1:21:35 but uh just to hone in on the,

1:21:37 the sort of,

1:21:37 I,

1:21:37 I think the critical aspects there.

1:21:40 Um,

1:21:40 one of those is that if,

1:21:41 um,

1:21:43 if stakeholders are able to come to coalesce around some key

1:21:48 Um,

1:21:49 you know,

1:21:49 some key elements of that shared agenda.

1:21:52 What are the,

1:21:52 uh,

1:21:53 uh,

1:21:53 Vil is a really nice example.

1:21:55 Ultimately,

1:21:56 yes,

1:21:56 there are conflicts between stakeholders.

1:21:58 Everyone wants different things.

1:21:59 There are disparate agendas,

1:22:00 but the watershed is an agenda that no one could disagree with.

1:22:03 The water,

1:22:04 without the watershed,

1:22:05 there is no community.

1:22:07 There is no future,

1:22:08 there is no,

1:22:09 um,

1:22:09 you know,

1:22:10 there is no,

1:22:11 um,

1:22:11 future for the visitor economy or for,

1:22:13 for local residents.

1:22:15 Um,

1:22:15 so,

1:22:15 putting

1:22:16 This kind of shared agenda in the middle,

1:22:18 um,

1:22:19 demonstrating,

1:22:20 uh,

1:22:20 um,

1:22:21 over time,

1:22:22 how stakeholders can continue to work together

1:22:25 with this agenda in the middle,

1:22:27 um,

1:22:27 developing a governance process that allows for that common agenda to,

1:22:31 to be,

1:22:32 um,

1:22:32 maintained and for,

1:22:34 um,

1:22:34 you know,

1:22:35 and for,

1:22:35 uh,

1:22:36 uh,

1:22:37 initiatives to,

1:22:38 to align around that common agenda,

1:22:40 and ultimately having the,

1:22:42 the data or the

1:22:44 Um,

1:22:44 you know,

1:22:45 the monitoring tool in place that's going to,

1:22:47 um,

1:22:48 allow,

1:22:49 uh,

1:22:49 any evolved governance to be able to monitor when the threat to that shared agenda

1:22:54 is,

1:22:55 um,

1:22:56 you know,

1:22:56 I,

1:22:56 I,

1:22:56 is,

1:22:57 is,

1:22:57 or the balance that,

1:22:58 that,

1:22:58 that,

1:22:58 the destination has defined is,

1:23:00 is,

1:23:00 is under some sort of threat.

1:23:02 Oftentimes,

1:23:03 destinations find themselves in a reactive place,

1:23:05 um,

1:23:06 but we are proposing that,

1:23:07 that,

1:23:07 um,

1:23:08 causal indicators be,

1:23:09 be identified that

1:23:10 really help

1:23:11 the stakeholders to understand long before just like COVID,

1:23:15 you know,

1:23:15 we were

1:23:15 talking a lot about flattening the curve beforehand,

1:23:18 and I,

1:23:18 I think it's,

1:23:19 it's quite similar in a way,

1:23:20 right?

1:23:21 Like,

1:23:21 why do we wait until the,

1:23:22 why do we wait until the end,

1:23:24 uh,

1:23:24 rather than understanding

1:23:26 this balance is,

1:23:26 is,

1:23:27 is something that we are,

1:23:28 um,

1:23:29 uh,

1:23:29 that we are

1:23:30 concerned about and let's find the interventions that may,

1:23:32 we,

1:23:33 we may be able to align them to help us ensure that that balance remains.

1:23:39 Some key points there,

1:23:40 right?

1:23:40 So beyond just the negotiating is having in place those governance

1:23:45 structures and then the monitoring piece there to be able to

1:23:49 to track and hold each other accountable to what's happening over time.

1:23:52 Thank you so much,

1:23:53 Jeremy.

1:23:54 um,

1:23:54 Osborne,

1:23:55 I'm sure that we have,

1:23:57 uh,

1:23:57 destinations um that that are joining us and.

1:24:01 And um I wonder,

1:24:02 you know,

1:24:03 you could say wow this is a this is a

1:24:05 super comprehensive approach you know the government at a national level

1:24:10 um is has really worked to put in place new policies

1:24:14 provide that guidance to strategy frameworks,

1:24:16 etc.

1:24:17 and then the ministry has these like.

1:24:19 Very specific initiatives,

1:24:21 um,

1:24:21 so there's a lot going on there,

1:24:23 um,

1:24:24 where should destination tourism

1:24:28 organizations start,

1:24:29 um,

1:24:29 in addressing

1:24:30 let's look at climate adaptation in particular because that's what

1:24:33 you zoomed in on in your converse in your presentation.

1:24:38 Right.

1:24:38 Um,

1:24:39 uh,

1:24:39 just like you said,

1:24:41 the,

1:24:41 the whole development of that,

1:24:43 uh,

1:24:44 policy framework,

1:24:45 um,

1:24:45 is,

1:24:45 is critical in,

1:24:46 in,

1:24:47 in establishing,

1:24:48 like I mentioned in,

1:24:49 in my presentation,

1:24:50 the enabling environment

1:24:52 because that is paramount to be able to effectively address

1:24:55 any climate change concerns.

1:24:57 But,

1:24:58 uh,

1:24:58 it's important that

1:24:59 these policies must be coherent,

1:25:01 um,

1:25:01 they have to be integrated and they have to be consistent.

1:25:05 And so,

1:25:06 You,

1:25:06 you will know that um

1:25:08 climate change is not necessarily um

1:25:11 being run through

1:25:12 my ministry,

1:25:13 but it is,

1:25:13 it is a,

1:25:14 a,

1:25:14 a national

1:25:15 led initiative by the ministry with

1:25:17 responsibility for environment and climate change.

1:25:20 And they have established that

1:25:21 policy framework which,

1:25:22 which establishes that,

1:25:24 that enabling environment.

1:25:25 Um,

1:25:26 and so they have instituted

1:25:28 the dedicated public bodies.

1:25:30 That have the responsibility for implementation and

1:25:32 for providing advice and guidance to the policymakers

1:25:36 and so

1:25:36 what we do in tourism is that we support

1:25:39 the policy development process we support through

1:25:42 implementing the necessary

1:25:44 strategies on our end

1:25:46 to align those.

1:25:48 Those strategies

1:25:50 with both the,

1:25:51 the global and,

1:25:52 and the,

1:25:52 and the environmental commitments,

1:25:54 um,

1:25:54 the climate change commitments so that they can be as effective as possible.

1:25:58 And so this effective

1:26:00 partnership and collaboration among

1:26:02 um the different sectors,

1:26:03 uh,

1:26:04 tourism,

1:26:04 for example,

1:26:05 collab.

1:26:05 Collaborating with the other ministries

1:26:08 as well as the private sector,

1:26:10 including our private sector in the process,

1:26:12 in the policy development process,

1:26:14 as well as to include the community

1:26:16 in that process

1:26:17 is is very,

1:26:18 very critical.

1:26:19 And so this,

1:26:20 this dialogue that we're trying to foster.

1:26:23 And to,

1:26:23 and to build that technical cooperation

1:26:26 between

1:26:27 um all the,

1:26:27 all the different stakeholders through

1:26:29 that knowledge sharing process and expertise

1:26:32 um is very crucial,

1:26:33 especially when we're talking about climate

1:26:35 change commitments and climate change action.

1:26:37 And so,

1:26:38 that is,

1:26:39 that,

1:26:39 that,

1:26:39 that is where we have to start,

1:26:41 um,

1:26:41 and then we can move into,

1:26:43 into the,

1:26:43 the actual implementation process

1:26:45 going down the,

1:26:46 down the road.

1:26:52 I think you're muted,

1:26:53 Cellini.

1:26:56 Thank you so much,

1:26:57 Osborne,

1:26:58 um,

1:26:58 for offering,

1:26:59 you know,

1:26:59 a starting point,

1:27:01 uh,

1:27:01 for destinations that may be thinking,

1:27:03 wow,

1:27:04 there's a lot happening,

1:27:05 where should we start?

1:27:07 Um,

1:27:07 so we're almost at the hour,

1:27:09 so I'd like to ask one sort of final question to,

1:27:13 um,

1:27:13 our,

1:27:14 uh,

1:27:14 keynote speakers today.

1:27:17 Um,

1:27:17 let's think of the audience here and if there was one thing that you would hope

1:27:22 that,

1:27:23 um,

1:27:23 people in the audience do today.

1:27:26 Uh,

1:27:27 as a result of your work and the conversations that

1:27:31 we've had here as well as the launch of this,

1:27:34 uh,

1:27:34 new blue tourism resource portal,

1:27:37 what would it be?

1:27:38 Let's start with you,

1:27:38 Jeremy.

1:27:40 Sure.

1:27:41 Um,

1:27:42 I think it's time that we,

1:27:43 we sort of move beyond definitions and

1:27:48 the sort of ongoing discussion about definitions and

1:27:51 to think much differently about

1:27:54 these concepts,

1:27:55 destination,

1:27:55 stewardship,

1:27:56 sustainability.

1:27:57 Um,

1:27:58 to me,

1:27:58 it's about seeing the whole picture

1:28:00 and understanding what is causing a,

1:28:02 a system,

1:28:03 whether it's a global system,

1:28:04 uh,

1:28:05 local system,

1:28:05 a regional system to be out of balance.

1:28:08 And to really hone in on those key measures of success,

1:28:11 those outcomes that could lead to real change,

1:28:14 and that would help to prioritize the key drivers that matter most.

1:28:17 I mean,

1:28:17 we're at a time of emergency,

1:28:19 climate emergency and inequity in our economy,

1:28:21 and without prioritization,

1:28:23 um,

1:28:23 there will be no way to,

1:28:24 to work toward balance and address those challenges.

1:28:27 So I'd encourage us to sort of cut the noise and,

1:28:29 and,

1:28:29 and try to identify,

1:28:31 um,

1:28:31 how we can better see that whole picture.

1:28:35 Great insights,

1:28:37 Megan.

1:28:39 Yeah,

1:28:39 I think a lot of us are all talking about this need for a rethink,

1:28:42 and that rethink will require collaboration at a scale we've never seen before,

1:28:46 right?

1:28:47 And I think my

1:28:48 biggest sort of takeaway

1:28:50 or a piece of advice would be to

1:28:53 Question our own prejudices of those that we would need to collaborate

1:28:58 with or assumptions of what those stakeholders may bring to the table.

1:29:03 I went through this transformation myself when I

1:29:06 was initially skeptical of joining a business to be able to run this program

1:29:10 when coming from academia and of course in coming to the other side,

1:29:14 you realize that.

1:29:15 There's a lot of

1:29:15 really value-driven leaders in a business context who want to

1:29:19 be able to engage but don't quite yet know how.

1:29:22 And I think we can all work on this sort of bidirectional

1:29:26 or multidirectional literacy to be able to interpret how public sector,

1:29:30 how NGO and how private sector

1:29:32 may be thinking about these problems to be

1:29:34 able to more effectively collaborate with each other.

1:29:38 Wonderful.

1:29:38 Thank you,

1:29:39 Megan

1:29:40 Osborne.

1:29:42 Uh,

1:29:43 just to say that,

1:29:44 um,

1:29:46 well,

1:29:46 we're all speaking the same language and

1:29:48 quite frankly,

1:29:49 I believe that,

1:29:50 uh,

1:29:50 we're speaking to the converted already.

1:29:52 And just to say that,

1:29:54 uh,

1:29:54 this sustainability,

1:29:56 um,

1:29:57 sustainable management of our natural resources and the environment,

1:30:01 particularly when we twin that with tourism,

1:30:03 I believe that,

1:30:04 um,

1:30:05 we have the power to,

1:30:06 to solve

1:30:07 many of the challenges that we face

1:30:09 in the world.

1:30:10 Uh,

1:30:11 but at the same time,

1:30:13 we need

1:30:14 the support and the commitment

1:30:16 from all stakeholders.

1:30:17 We need the buy-in,

1:30:18 especially from the,

1:30:19 the,

1:30:19 the political directorate in our,

1:30:20 in our countries,

1:30:21 and so we have to be,

1:30:23 um,

1:30:24 very forceful

1:30:25 in.

1:30:27 In getting them to

1:30:28 to learn

1:30:29 um what we're doing,

1:30:31 to understand the importance of what we're doing,

1:30:33 and,

1:30:33 and most importantly to to make it a priority.

1:30:37 And then,

1:30:37 um,

1:30:38 so the one thing that I hope you do today is to get involved,

1:30:42 um,

1:30:42 is to be a part of the change,

1:30:44 um,

1:30:45 and you can do that right now by,

1:30:46 by becoming a,

1:30:47 a,

1:30:48 a,

1:30:48 a partner in this,

1:30:49 in this blue tourism,

1:30:50 um,

1:30:51 um,

1:30:51 portal

1:30:52 because there are

1:30:53 tons of resources and tools that are available

1:30:56 that can benefit,

1:30:57 um,

1:30:58 everyone,

1:30:58 um,

1:30:58 every destination,

1:30:59 uh,

1:31:00 every country,

1:31:00 every individual.

1:31:02 And so we can also benefit from you,

1:31:04 um,

1:31:04 so

1:31:05 get on with it and,

1:31:06 and assist us to,

1:31:07 to,

1:31:08 to assist you.

1:31:09 Thank you.

1:31:10 So from these wonderful presentations we're taking away so many critical points.

1:31:15 I hope um we know that we don't need to start from

1:31:18 scratch as uh Osborne just reminded us there is this new resource um

1:31:24 that you have at your fingertips literally

1:31:27 uh to access knowledge um and

1:31:30 you know uh get your journey started um so

1:31:33 we know too that we can.

1:31:35 Uh,

1:31:36 learn from each other vicariously through the use of these tools,

1:31:39 um,

1:31:40 and

1:31:41 that we

1:31:42 will

1:31:42 need to connect the dots differently as Jeremy mentioned,

1:31:46 you know,

1:31:47 in order to go beyond business as usual.

1:31:50 So here's one question and this is a little bit,

1:31:53 um,

1:31:54 uh,

1:31:54 much broader thinking of tourism and its intersection with fisheries which,

1:31:58 you know,

1:31:59 we're talking about blue tourism today.

1:32:01 Um,

1:32:01 so this is Megan mentioned collaborations with

1:32:04 fisheries and Jeremy talked about defining value

1:32:08 together with different stakeholders.

1:32:10 I'd be interested in hearing more about how panel members are

1:32:14 dealing with possible conflict interests

1:32:18 between tourism and fisheries stakeholders.

1:32:25 I can certainly speak to that a little bit,

1:32:27 um,

1:32:28 uh,

1:32:28 and in the example that I brought from

1:32:31 the sanctuary that we're working towards in Montego Bay,

1:32:34 there's a community that

1:32:36 is,

1:32:36 uh,

1:32:37 depending on subsistence fishing which from many of our

1:32:40 ecological surveys we've demonstrated that some of the key grazers

1:32:44 are exacerbating the health of the coral reef

1:32:46 ecosystem and declining our ability to use that

1:32:50 ecosystem to its fullest potential.

1:32:51 For coastal protection

1:32:53 we needed to engage in these sorts of discussions on on what were their

1:32:57 needs and how could we work with them to be able to look towards understanding

1:33:04 the the the necessities and the collaboration that had not yet been

1:33:08 existing until the point when we

1:33:10 engaged in this dialogue around coastal protection

1:33:12 with these communities and as I've mentioned we've worked collaboratively

1:33:16 with them together.

1:33:18 Alongside a model that has been demonstrated multiple times in in Jamaica

1:33:23 through Ocabeza where there's an example of

1:33:26 being able to work with fishing communities and

1:33:29 have them lead the design and implementation and work towards

1:33:33 job conversion and improvement of gear technology to be able to

1:33:36 coexist and manage for the benefit of all,

1:33:38 right,

1:33:39 for

1:33:39 higher biomass in many of these ecosystems and

1:33:42 for higher ecosystem services for coastal protection.

1:33:45 But I would also say too that those are some examples of conflict.

1:33:48 We're also finding very strongly that there are benefits

1:33:52 and synergies between coastal tourism and

1:33:55 particularly small scale artisanal fisheries.

1:33:57 In the work that we're doing in,

1:33:58 in our,

1:34:00 our work to have 100% of our seafood responsibly sourced,

1:34:03 we quickly discovered that if we wanted to define that to a high rigorous standard,

1:34:07 we would have needed to import nearly all of

1:34:09 the seafood because there are not many fishery improvement projects

1:34:12 or others in many.

1:34:13 of our destinations and so that didn't work and we needed to think

1:34:17 about ways that tourism could bring a model to lift up local fisheries.

1:34:20 We're doing this work with

1:34:21 the spiny lobster fishery and White House in Jamaica as well,

1:34:24 as well as many other examples.

1:34:26 But there's just a quick example on how there can actually be synergies

1:34:30 where coastal tourism can be a driver for small scale artisanal fisheries that may

1:34:34 not otherwise have the incentives to access exports to international markets,

1:34:38 which is where certifications usually play a really major role.

1:34:42 Um,

1:34:42 but to have drivers to do better in their sustainability,

1:34:44 that's also for the benefit of coastal communities and the benefit

1:34:48 of,

1:34:48 of,

1:34:49 of fisheries and tourism,

1:34:51 um,

1:34:51 in,

1:34:51 in many of our destinations.

1:34:52 So I think those

1:34:53 are examples of

1:34:55 conflict towards collaboration and there are also examples of

1:34:57 synergies from the very beginning that we can draw from

1:35:00 in a tourism context.

1:35:02 Wonderful examples.

1:35:04 Thank you so much,

1:35:05 Megan,

1:35:06 um,

1:35:06 for offering these.

1:35:08 um,

1:35:08 we offer our heartfelt,

1:35:10 um,

1:35:11 thank you and gratitude to Minister Bartlett,

1:35:14 to Megan,

1:35:15 to Osborne,

1:35:16 to Jeremy for joining us today

1:35:18 and sharing your insights.

1:35:19 Um,

1:35:20 go to,

1:35:20 go

1:35:22 to,

1:35:22 please make sure to check out the Blue tourism resource portal,

1:35:25 and I would like to now turn it over to Louise

1:35:28 Twining Ward from the World Bank for the official closing.

1:35:33 Thank you so much,

1:35:34 Saleni,

1:35:35 and thank you all for such a rich discussion and knowledge exchange today

1:35:38 in celebration of World Tourism Day.

1:35:40 I think you've clearly laid out some of the challenges,

1:35:44 uh,

1:35:44 and the urgency,

1:35:45 uh,

1:35:46 for place-based solutions.

1:35:47 We really,

1:35:48 really hope that you're gonna use this Blue tourism resource portal.

1:35:52 We hope it'll be a great start to your sustainability,

1:35:55 uh,

1:35:55 journey.

1:35:55 And particular thanks to our collaborators,

1:35:58 Saxo,

1:35:58 the Ocean Foundation,

1:35:59 World Resources Institute.

1:36:00 To

1:36:01 GW

1:36:02 University,

1:36:03 our knowledgeable panelists,

1:36:04 wonderful moderator,

1:36:05 Saleni,

1:36:05 thank you,

1:36:06 um,

1:36:06 and all our participants today.

1:36:08 It really does take a village.

1:36:10 This is a public-private,

1:36:11 civil society,

1:36:13 um,

1:36:13 innovation,

1:36:14 and we hope that you'll use it.

1:36:16 Um,

1:36:16 this wouldn't have been possible without the support of Pro Blue,

1:36:19 without the support of the World Bank

1:36:20 Group Partnership Fund for Sustainable Development Goals.

1:36:24 So thank you.

1:36:24 Please

1:36:25 bookmark the site,

1:36:27 see it there.

1:36:28 Um,

1:36:28 ocean tourism.org/portal.

1:36:31 Share it with your colleagues.

1:36:33 Uh,

1:36:33 and please do consider becoming a blue tourism portal.

1:36:36 We really hope

1:36:38 that you'll take this opportunity to rethink tourism in a bluer direction.

1:36:42 Thank you so much,

1:36:44 uh,

1:36:44 and have a wonderful rest of your World Tourism Day.

1:36:47 Goodbye.

showAllTimestamps

no

transcript

Hello, everyone, and welcome to the World Tourism Day launch of the Blue Tourism Resource Portal. We're just gonna give everyone a minute or two to join the call, and we'll get right started. Welcome. Hello again, and thank you for joining us this morning. Welcome to our event to launch the Blue Tourism Resource Portal in celebration of World Tourism Day 2022. Just a little housekeeping before we start, to ensure we can all hear what's going on. The audience will be muted. If you do have any issues with your audio connection, please press the down arrow next to your mute button. Uh, that should help you, uh, to make sure you have an audio connection. Uh, we do want to hear from you, so please put your questions in the chat. There will be a Q&A, uh, which Seleni will be, uh, moderating at the end of the session. We are also recording this session, and we'll be sending out the slide decks to everyone who registered, so don't worry too much about taking notes, but please just enjoy the session. So in light of this year's World Tourism Day theme, rethinking tourism, it couldn't be a better time to build a collaborative public-private resource base for how to develop tourism in the context of sustainable use of ocean resources. To tell us more about this, how to use this remarkable new resource, I'm delighted to welcome Mark Spaulding, president of the Ocean Foundation. Mark, over to you. Thank you very much, Louise. Good day, good evening, and to those in my time zone, good morning. My name is Mark Spaulding, and I'm the co-chair of the Tourism Action Coalition for a Sustainable Ocean. I'm also president of the Ocean Foundation. On behalf of the Ocean Foundation as the fiscal host of the Tourism Action Coalition for Sustainable Ocean, or TOXO for short, I want to welcome you to this event to launch the Blue Tourism Resource portal as part of the, as part of World Ocean World Tourism Day 2022. I guess it's still early in the morning here. The Ocean Foundation is the only internationally focused community foundation for the ocean. Our mission is to support, strengthen and promote those organizations dedicated to reversing the trend of destruction of ocean environments around the world. We host fiscally sponsored projects such as TXO. We make grants, partner with corporations, facilitate networks and collaboratives. We raise every dollar we spend to support those who depend on healthy ocean ecosystems. We house a free knowledge hub of curated research for. Students and researchers, we focus on several cross-cutting themes throughout our work that include supporting island communities, ocean science diplomacy, ocean health investments, ocean climate nexus, diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice, and capacity building. As such, sustainable coastal and ocean tourism are a key part of our portfolio to protect and conserve natural resources, including nature-based climate solutions and all those who depend upon them. So it was natural for us to work with the High Level panel for a sustainable ocean Economy and our partners at Ibirostar to stand up TXO and further to work with the World Bank and many other partners to create and launch this blue tourism resource portal. The portal offers hundreds of useful resources including, but not limited to guidelines, toolkits, best practices, and case studies to be used by tourism decision makers, managers, and operators to make destinations sustainable and resilient. The portal is an important milestone for Toxo and one of its first global initiatives. So again, thank you all for joining us. It is now my pleasure to introduce our next speaker, Martha Martinez Listi, practice manager Markets Competition and Technology at the World Bank, to reveal the blue tourism resource portal. Welcome, Martha. The mute button, Martha? Thank you Mark. This is like the beauty of being double connected in order not to interrupt you. So thank you Mark. I'm really delighted to be here today to launch the Blue Tourism Resource portal. COVID-19 really highlighted how dependent the small islands and small coastal states are on tourism. As we have shift shifted from crisis to now um response to recovery, the blue economy, an approach to promote sustainable and integrated use of marine resources has become a core element of the World Bank tourism engagement. In the last year alone, as an example, the World Bank approved 141 million in Blue economy tourism projects in the Caribbean and West Africa. These are projects that integrate amongst other things, fisheries, waste management and resilient coastal tourism. Blue tourism is a sustainable alternative to the traditional tourism practices in coastal and maritime areas. It is typically a low impact activity focusing on the promotion of local communities and the conservation of natural resources. As such, it's not the activity that defines what a blue tourism activity is, but how the activity is organized, operated, and for sure its impacts. One of the common challenges er facing policy makers as well as entrepreneurs in a small islands as they transition to more sustainable tourism operations is lack of information, data and resources. I also just came back from er Kingston and all around the ocean you can see Sar Sargassum in the Caribbean Oceans and there are many questions around to er what the small islands can do about it while attracting also the new markets and the new opportunities that are present now post COVID. The Blue tourism resource portal has been created towards filling this knowledge gap. So without further ado, please drum roll, please. It is with great pleasure and delight that I unveil the new blue tourism resource portal. This e-library offers hundreds of useful resources from around the world that can help you to create cultural experiences, educate visitors, and revitalize cultural heritage. Protect and manage the integrity of natural resources. Improve crisis management and build resilient. Embed sustainable practices at the destination and business levels, and to finally strengthen local economies and enhance residents quality of life. You can search for resources by type, such as guidelines and case studies, to name a few, topics, language, and several other filters. You can also find existing learning and action networks that can help you build the skills and make connections in the tourism industry. The portal is designed for decision makers and managers in all coastal destinations. We invite you to become a Blue Tourism partner and join the hundreds of organizations that are contributing resources and helping to promote the library. Please visit the Blue Tourism research portal today and upload a research. You may have to find the right tools needed to tackle your sustainability challenge. And now over to Elizabeth Wright, Project Manager for development of the Blue Tourism Resource portal to give us a bit more of a tour of the new portal. Congratulations to all again, looking forward to your questions and the whole session. Thank you, Martha, so much and thank you uh for such an incredible uh unveiling of the website. I don't think I've ever seen a ribbon cutting quite like that, so this is an exciting day. Um, I'm here to provide a little more of an in-depth look of how to use the Blue Tourism Resource portal. I'll start by saying that to create the portal, we initially conducted interviews and spoke with industry professionals at all different levels in different parts of the world who depend and work in ocean tourism. We then took a really deep dive into research, uh, looking at a variety of networks, platforms, knowledge hubs, and individual resources. We also put out a call to action for folks to submit resources they thought would be useful for the portal. All of this in order to develop a useful criteria to ensure that the resources that we include in the portal are practical, useful, and accessible for all types of stakeholders that work in ocean tourism. Uh, what we resulted here is to have roughly about 475 resources, but we believe this is just the beginning. The purpose of the portal will really be that it grows and remains current over time with those who participate within it. The easiest way to find a resource is by using the search button, which you'll see at the top right corner. You can put in keywords, authors, publishers, titles, and the resources you're looking for will appear on the right. We've also created a filter system that you can see where you can indicate a different type of category. You will be able to open up uh menus that allow you to choose different types, languages, geographic regions, stakeholder audiences, and a variety of different topics all related to blue tourism development. For each resource, we also analyzed for their relation to Global Sustainable Tourism Council destination criteria. And you can see here the numbers next to each name show how many resources pertain to each of those types of the criteria. We also looked at the 17 sustainable development goals and identified for each resource what sustainable development goals are being met or how it could be used. So to show a little example of how the portal works, we've indicated goal number 14, life below water. And so once you do that, all of the resources on the side, I think it's roughly 136, uh, so far on the portal directly related to meeting goals of that SDG. One that we'll look at more specifically now. Is the sea turtle friendly tourism standards. So this is just one example of a resource on the portal. You can see it has the name, category, the type. We also like to include the publisher's level of accessibility for each resource. We indicate whether it's free, if it'll. Cost anything or if it will require logins or downloads, we indicate stakeholder users who would most be able to use this resource and find it interesting, geographic regions, the, the languages, as well as those other factors that we indicated before. For each resource, you can log in to actually rate and provide reviews of a resource that way that the most useful ones will, will be very present on the website. And if you scroll down a little bit further for each resource page, we've included a citation block, but also other related articles and, and entries, different resources and tools related to this topic that could also be interesting for the user. You'll also see that there's an add resource button up on the top right that's there so that people are able to register and fill out a form to actually submit resources. Resources are submitted and reviewed by our team and then published onto the website once we know that they've met the current criteria for the platform. The final area that I'll, I'll show is around networks and platforms. As we mentioned, we ended up taking a very deep dive into seeing what are all of the e-libraries, networks, platforms, knowledge hubs that already exist related to tourism and the ocean economy. And so here we've listed about 57 of them. It will still grow further as we. Continue to learn about all of the different knowledge hubs that exist. But here you can, users can continue their journey looking for the resources and tools that they need by going to each of these individual networks and platforms. It's an honor to announce this today and I'm uh looking forward to handing this off now to Stephanie Westhel to uh finish announcing the portal. Thank you so much, Beth, and I'm so pleased and honored to be here with you today. Uh, before we get into the panelist session, I really wanna highlight a few points, um, what the other speakers have said and added a few of my own. As spoken about earlier, TXO was really created as a call to action for leaders to work together to meet several of the global goals in resilient coastal and ocean-based tourism. Now, our coalition does this by bringing together different stakeholders across the tourism industry to create global collective action and facilitate knowledge sharing in which we are showing at today's event. This portal and the event is just the beginning of initiatives and projects hosted by Taxo, and I really want to reiterate that my door is always open for feedback, comments, or just to provide support to your organizations. I will put my email in the chat function as I really do look forward to working with your communities and organizations as we need to have open knowledge sharing for years to come. And one last word of encouragement to each of us before we start the session is let's not let this project stay idle and as you're listening to the panelists today, please be thinking about what resources and tools you or your organization can upload to aid other organizations on their sustainability journeys and what resources you'd need in order for our collective work to reach protecting at least 30% of the oceans by 2030. I really do appreciate all of your attention and your consideration on becoming a blue tourism partner and without further ado, it is my pleasure to introduce our moderator for this excellent session on the blue tourism economy. We welcome Seleni Mattis, executive director of the International Institute of Tourism Studies at GW. Welcome to the stage, Seleni. Thank you so much Stephanie and good day to all of you joining us from far flung places and closer to home here um where I'm hailing from in Washington DC. I think there's one thing that we all share in common and I think you've seen this maybe through all the speakers previously. And this is, you know, our passion for tourism and, um, it being used as a force for good, and I think there's a lot of hope here that by knowledge sharing we'll be able um to shift the trajectories that are coastal and marine destinations find themselves in and put our entire industry on a course for a better future. Um, so to celebrate World Tourism Day, uh, we would like to explore a few exemplary initiatives that are quite emblematic of the, of this year's theme that Luis mentioned, thinking, rethinking tourism, um, and these examples that we are highlighting today. Demonstrate how governments, NGOs, um, and travel companies are looking ahead and we're focusing on people and our planet and putting them at the center of all their work, sharing responsibility to create a sector that is more sustainable, inclusive and resilient. Um, so it is my great pleasure to introduce our distinguished panel of keynote speakers who are spearheading these exemplary initiatives featured on the Blue tourism resource portal. Uh, we'll have each keynote speaker provide a brief overview, um, of their innovation using a few slides so you have a good sense of how, what it is and how it works, and then we will open up, um, to a discussion. Uh, to give us more highlights about the impact that these innovations are having and what it means for implementation, um, I encourage you to put your questions, um, in the chat box as Luis mentioned at the, at the start of the session so that we can address these immediately after the open discussion. Um, before I introduce the panel, I'd like to, um, I, we'd like to play for you a recorded message from Honorable Edmund Bartlett, who is Minister of Tourism for Jamaica. He will be setting context a bit for this panel discussion and the work that. Jamaica is doing to ensure a more resilient um industry both in Jamaica but then also internationally so we'll see how they are catalyzing change um around the world as well um as a result of what they're doing so with this I'd like to ask the tech team please to roll the video. Based on the projections of accelerated climate change impacts on the global economy in the coming years, there's an urgent need for international tourism to transition towards a more balanced and sustainable sector that addresses the central challenges of how scarce natural resources can be prudently managed. And how economic growth can be aligned with the preservation of both land and marine-based natural resources. This model emphasizes values such as sustainable consumption and production. Or the use of services and related products in a way that can respond to the basic needs and ensure a better quality of life while minimizing the use of natural resources and toxic materials as well as the emission of waste and pollutants. The whole notion of sustainable tourism also calls for environmental sustainability to be built into all aspects of the tourism products building design, construction, transportation, marketing, entertainment, adventure, energy use, customer service, waste disposal, maintenance, and the use of utilities, in particular, There needs to be a clear consensus among tourism stakeholders about the enormous benefits of healthy marine and coastal ecosystems to the economic livelihoods and survival of billions of people globally. Healthy marine and coastal ecosystems serve as valuable sources of food, income, trade, and shipping, minerals, energy, water supply, recreation, and indeed tourism. The importance of healthy marine and coastal ecosystems in promoting sustainable tourism is especially worthy of acknowledgement. This is against the backdrop that 80% of tourism occurs along coastal towns and areas while the ocean-related tourism industry grows by an estimated US 134 billion per year according to the UN Global Compact. Similarly, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development OECD has also predicted. That marine and coastal tourism will be the largest sector of the global ocean-based economy by 2030, generating US $777 billion in global revenue and employing 8.6 million people. Small island states are particularly reliant on coastal and marine tourism. It constitutes the largest economic sector for most small island developing states and many coastal states. In the Caribbean, for example, the industry accounts for 25% of the total economy and 20% of all jobs. Admittedly, marine and coastal ecosystems are also threatened by the tourism development. The areas that attract tourists have been coming under increasing pressure from the damage and pollution caused by tourism facilities and the supporting infrastructure. At the same time, the impacts of climate change, overfishing, and other unsustainable practices, and even some marine tourism activities damage marine ecosystems such as coral reefs that are vital for maintaining ecological diversity and regulating climate. The United Nations has estimated the cost of reduced tourism due to coral bleaching at $12 billion US dollars annually. Ultimately, to prepare for the future and to enhance their competitiveness, global tourist destinations must urgently prioritize climate change action and mitigation. From the perspective of my own country, the Jamaican tourism industry is very climate sensitive and like most Caribbean islands, Jamaica's main tourism product is traditionally coastal, centered on sun, sea, and sand. The island therefore is susceptible to many risks posed by climate change, including sea level rise and extreme events, with resultant impacts such as beach erosion, flooding, saline intrusion into aquifers, and general coastal degradation. In general, climate change and global warming are the most urgent threats to global tourism. Impacting all dimensions of an attractive tourism product sand, sea, sun, food, and people. Climate change is associated with both direct and indirect threats to the sector, including food insecurity, water shortages, extreme heat, severe hurricanes, beach erosion, biodiversity loss, critical infrastructure collapse, safety concerns, and increased insurance costs. To promote a sustainable ocean economy. Effective measures are urgently required to push back against the rapid decline of coastal and marine ecosystems. The tourism sector in particular must lend its full support to any action or initiative that is intended to reconstruct the actions and ethos of the industry to achieve mitigation of industrial activities that most significantly harm the ocean, its resources, and ecosystems. The transition to sustainable ocean economies will overall require a set of concrete ideas, strategies, innovations, best practices and policies that can be standardized and operationalized by all stakeholders. To this end, I welcome the establishment of the Blue Tourism Resource portal, which was created to help tourism decision makers, managers, and operators make their destination sustainable and resilient by offering useful resources, including, but not limited to guidelines, tool kits, good practices, and case studies. The establishment of this innovative portal is consistent with Jamaica's tourism ministry's commitment to the national climate change adaptation plan, which underscores the imperative of adapting necessary policies and actions to ensure that adaptation strategies are mainstreamed into the economic and fiscal management, national and development planning. Development of the conscious physical infrastructure, land use, as well as coastal and zone planning and management. The Blue tourism resource portal also builds upon the work of the Global Tourism Resilience and Crisis Management Center, which since its inception in 2019 has assumed a focal role in coordinating and executing proactive interventions geared towards promoting mitigation and resilience among destinations globally, including the development of indicators to measure resilience. Risk assessment, mapping and planning, promoting innovation systems for climate adaptation and resilience, cross-border intelligence sharing. Widespread training and education to build capacity and promote behavioral modifications. Developing a regional funding model to coordinate regional responses and developing urban resilience as well as building meaningful partnerships. The Blue tourism resource portal also builds upon the commitment of the 16 member ocean panel 2030 goal of ensuring that coastal and ocean-based tourism is sustainable. Resilient, addresses climate change, reduces pollution, supports ecosystem regeneration and biodiversity conservation, and also to invest in local jobs in the communities. The spirit of this vision was also reflected in the Ocean Panel Commission report entitled Opportunities for Transforming Coastal and Marine Tourism. Towards sustainable regeneration and resilience, this report harnessed the perspectives of over 40 experts to generate an exhaustive toolkit on sustainable coastal and marine tourism, generating a comprehensive understanding of marine and coastal tourism across the world. And showcasing the global scale and impact of the opportunities and benefits that can be realized by transforming the coastal and marine tourism industry. To make the vision of sustainable tourism a reality, then I take this opportunity to encourage all tourism stakeholders to utilize the resources provided through the Blue tourism resource portal. I will also be reiterating that the health and sustainability of our coastal and marine ecosystems is critical to the survival of the tourism industry and by extension our planet. In this regard, The blue tourism resource portal constitutes an invaluable asset that will serve as a catalyst, thereby engendering a sustainable tourism economy by 2030. Thank you. So we see that Minister Bartlett's remarks, very thoughtful remarks, uh, capture so nicely much of what we need to create change at scale. He says to transition to a more sustainable ecosystem and economies, we will need new innovations, best practices, revised and. New policies, um, and these to be adopted, uh, throughout the world, um, you know, and this is what this portal intends to do to share the knowledge that exists and to build upon it so special thanks to Minister Bartlett for his very thoughtful remarks. So our first speaker today is Mr. Osborne Chin. Um, Osborne is the tourism resilience and sustainability specialist, um, at the Ministry of Tourism in Jamaica. Uh, he has also served, uh, in the Ministry of Tourism as director of tourism facilitation, and this is a new role that has been created, and, and, um, Osborne has been filling it for some time. Mr. Chin is also responsible for driving the Ministry of Tourism sustainability portfolio for the past decade, so much experience there. His work includes development of policies and strategies focused on tourism resilience, sustainable tourism, environmental stewardship, climate change adaptation, and disaster risk management. Please join me in welcoming Osborne Chin. Osborne, the floor is yours. Thank you so much, Cellini. Thank you so much for that. Um, a pleasant good morning to everybody, to the organizers, uh, my fellow panelists and participants online. As Cellini said, my name is Osborne Chin, and I'm the tourism resilience and sustainability specialist in the Ministry of Tourism in Jamaica. And I must say that Jamaica is truly honored and excited to be a part of the launch of the Blue Tourism Resource portal. Uh, I believe that this event is very timely on World Tourism Day. It is extremely, extremely important. So a special thanks to the World Bank team, the Ocean Foundation and the Tourism Action Coalition for Sustainable Ocean, TAXO, and all the other partners for making this event a reality. Um, I just want to say that uh in highlighting what Minister Bartlett said about the impacts of a changing climate on the global economy and the urgent need to transition towards a sector that is sustainable and one that addresses the challenges of managing our scarce natural resources and also aligning that with economic growth uh and the preservation of our land and marine resources, uh, especially taking into consideration our economic livelihoods and community development. And so we see that the government of Jamaica is both aware and prepared to address the impacts of climate change. And so we have considered this carefully, both the consequences and we have developed the necessary policies and strategies to treat with the challenge of climate change. And so we, the tourism industry, we are certainly a part of the solution. And so just to reiterate what the minister said in his address that the establishment of this portal is consistent with Jamaica's commitment. To climate adaptation, uh, which I will speak to briefly in this presentation. Can move into the, into the presentation, please. Next slide please. All right, so we already know, go back. Right, so we already know how significant this sector is to the global economy. Um, what we also know is that tourism is extremely vulnerable and faces numerous challenges. Uh, just to put things into context a little bit, um, in Jamaica, for example, 90% of all of our tourism, um, room capacity is found along the coastline, and all of our major tourism destinations are also along the coastline. So, this level of dependency on the coastal resources for our tourism, which by the way, accounts for approximately 17% if you include, uh, the indirect, the induced. Um, contributions. This level of dependency also makes us extremely vulnerable to the potential impacts that can arise. Um, and minister made mention of all of them, coastal erosion, sea level rise, more powerful events. And so the challenges that we face in tourism are too many to mention here, um, but we could speak about things like economic recessions and health emergencies such as the recent pandemic. Uh, Safety and security, environmental degradation and pollution, and the numerous disruptions and crises and shocks, almost all of which in some way or another are exacerbated by climate change. And so we see that climate change is one of tourism's greatest challenge. It's one of the world's greatest challenge, and we must implement interventions. To address this challenge. Next slide, please. And so of course in the face of climate change, there are two types of interventions that we must implement. Uh, firstly, we must mitigate to reduce our emissions and we must adapt to cope with the impacts. But despite our best efforts sometimes, um, to mitigate the reduction of emissions, the impacts of climate change will always continue to be manifested for decades to come. Next slide please. And so adaptation measures are therefore necessary right now in the immediate term to manage the inevitable impacts and costs on the economy, on the environment, and of course on our society. And so for us here in Jamaica, adaptation is critical, and this is particularly relevant with the increasing effects that we're now seeing increased temperatures, changes, changes in rainfall patterns, rising sea levels, and more extreme events. Cause right now, as you see, Jamaica was closely missed by, by Hurricane Ian, um, which is now headed to the US and so we see it, you know, very readily right now. Uh, but regardless, we must address this issue both sustainably and comprehensively in order for us to fulfill our current national and sustainable development goals and aspirations. Next slide, please. And so, well, our commitment to climate adaptation is very clear cut. Um, I'm not exactly seeing the things on the slide, but what we do is one, we do it, uh, by legislation and policy. We do it, um, uh, through creating an enabling environment for effective implementation of projects that address the risks and most importantly, We focus on results-based monitoring and evaluation to ensure that we hold ourselves accountable for any real impact and real change. And so in terms of our adaptation, we have a lot going on here in Jamaica and at the Ministry of Tourism. But at the policy level, we have our vision 20,130 National Development Plan that guides the country's long-term strategic development goals for achieving inclusiveness, sustainability and prosperity. There's also a climate change policy framework for Jamaica, which creates that enabling environment that I spoke about earlier to facilitate the development and the coordination and implementation of measures to address the impacts of climate change. And so we recognize the risks that are posed by climate change and the need for strengthened and coordinated adaptation responses. And so the government is currently implementing a project or the PPCR project. Which is the pilot program for climate resilience, um, whose objective is to increase our resilience through enhancing the adaptive capacity across priority sectors. Uh, and so under this project, a number of risk assessments and vulnerability assessments were carried out as well as a climate change adaptation strategy and plan for the tourism sector. Well these were actually developed for 5 priority sectors, um, namely the coastal resources sector, the water, water sector, health sector. Human settlements and of course the tourism sector. So for the climate and so for the vulnerability and risk assessments, we looked at the climate threats to the sector. We also looked at doing a detailed hazard assessment of the sector, looking at specific hazards, uh, and then we did a vulnerability and risk assessment that looked at the exposure for each of those specific hazards, and this was done for all the 6 major destination areas across Jamaica. And then finally, the report recommended. Um, some initiatives for further strengthening the sector's adaptive capacity. The climate change adaptation plan provided the overall direction and the guidance to the sector for prioritizing the initiatives that we can use to help tourism manage and reduce the impacts of climate related risks, whether those risks are forecasted or existing. And also earlier this year, we published the 2019 State of the Jamaican Climate Report, which provides current climate information that will inform resilience building efforts and allow for improved sector-based assessments for resilient planning and decision making. And this is the first time um in doing these reports that a specific report for tourism um was done. Next slide, please. So at the sector-specific level, uh, as the minister said, we have been working to mainstream climate change and adapt climate change adaptation and mitigation into our tourism policies, plans and programs. Uh, Martha mentioned earlier, next slide please, um, how badly the sector was impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. And so in an effort to recover, the Ministry of Tourism embarked on a creative and innovative approach to guarantee the safe recovery of the sector by developing. As Minister Bartlett would say, a world-class health and safety protocol which included the establishment of tourism resilient corridors, which is a first of its kind in the world. Additionally, we have taken steps to ensure that tourism thrives in this, in this post-COVID-19 era. And the key to this is the development of the ministry's new strategic plan for 2021 to 2025, which is guided by the principles of the Blue Ocean strategy. And the idea behind this strategic approach is to make the sector more sustainable and resilient, of course, um, while offering our visitors an unmatched value proposition that is based on innovation, diversification. And most importantly, differentiation from any other destination. And so it aims to reduce the leakages and to support more inclusivity, um, especially in terms of our social and economic development. Next slide, please. So briefly, uh, just to, just to mention that we're also working on developing a new tourism strategy and action plan, which is actually going to be an update to our current master plan for sustainable tourism development, and this is expected to. To um consider new and emerging realities, especially climate change impacts and the need to increase our productivity and adapt to the new technological advancements. Uh, we're also doing a destination assurance framework and strategy, which is expected to be the ministry's long-term strategy for continuous improvement in our service delivery and quality assurance. And this ensures that our tourism sector is authentic, it is safe, it is secure, and it provides a seamless experience that is respectful of the local community and the environment. Um, As a direct response to the blue tourism objectives, uh, our ministry is also developing a policy on recreational water-based activities in Jamaica, which will establish the overall governance framework for the sustainable development and management of water-based recreational activities. And this focuses on streamlining and modernizing. Both the operational and the regulatory requirements of the sector while addressing four key areas of safety, environmental management, effective governance, and enforcement. Next slide, please. So quickly, it is worth mentioning a few other adaptation initiatives that we're currently undertaking, um, such as the development of a tourism risk register, which aims to document and assess all our current and potential risks through doing detailed risk assessments. We've also prepared several guidelines and templates to assist our tourism stakeholders in the preparation of disaster risk management plans and business continuity plans, and it would be remiss of me not to mention that the Ministry of Tourism, after having gone through a restructuring exercise last year, has now designated a dedicated officer with responsibility for tourism resilience and sustainability. This is a first in the Caribbean, and this shows the commitment at the policy level to institutionalize sustainability and resilience into our organizational structure. And so these are just a few of the initiatives that Jamaica is currently working on towards achieving a sustainable tourism economy. I could also speak about our capacity building and how the sector, um, or stakeholders or tourism businesses and our and our communities respond to the threat of climate change, as well as how tourism practices are, are, are affected by adaptation and mitigation measures, and I truly believe that capacity building. It is very important and it is not only the process and means through which we develop and enhance our skills, but it is also about increasing our knowledge. It's also about utilizing research, development. It's how we foster learning, how we provide supporting information to be able to access and to utilize quality data. And most importantly, it's about building capacity at the institutional level and this ties back directly with what we're trying to achieve here today with the Blue um tourism resource portal. So, finally, uh, next slide, I just want to use this opportunity to call on everyone here today um to support the efforts towards building resilience and sustainability. We all can inspire change and make a difference, and so I implore you all to get involved, whether you're a tourism destination, whether you are a tourism business, or even a student. You can join the portal and you can become a Blue tourism partner. Thank you very much. Thank you so much, Osborne. Um, it's so inspiring to see your holistic approach, um, to climate and its impacts. Uh, I think you know there's so much, um, that you've offered, and I'm certain that our audience has many questions. So take this moment please to use that chat box and. Points that you saw here that you'd like to learn more about, send us your questions, but we see from this example that people at the center of all of this in the creation of this new position that is the first of its kind in the Caribbean which which Osborne fills, um, I, I, I'm sure you have enormous um responsibilities on your shoulder. Boulder here Osborne um but then also you know the need to ensure that the ecosystem of organizations and leaders, local leaders within Jamaica have the knowledge, um, and are acting as well so wonderful, um, uh, thoughts. Thank you so much for this, uh, great presentation, Osborne. Um, with this, we'd like to now introduce our second speaker. Uh, Doctor Megan Morikawa, who is global sustainability office director at Ibiro Star, and she's our second presenter here, Doctor Morikawa leads the sustainability team in scientific-driven actions for a sustainable ocean economy and responsible tourism model. Uh, Ibiros Star plans to send no waste to landfill and source all its. Seafood from responsible sources by 2025 and to be carbon neutral in its operations and supply chain by 2030. She serves on numerous foundations, coalitions, councils, and networks to showcase lessons learned in her company's wave of change movement to inspire private sector innovations. Please welcome Dr. Megan Marikawa. Thank you so much Seleni, and I'm excited to, uh, continue this dialogue from an industry perspective as well as enter into the dialogue with Jeremy and Osborne to give a bit of a picture of what it means to make this transition a reality, and I think that that's exactly. The word we should be thinking about and we're constantly evolving and changing and and sometimes a guided transition can really help us to work towards making tourism a force for good. Um, Iberoar is a Spanish-based family owned company that has over 100 properties in 16 countries around the world, mostly in the Caribbean and Mediterranean. And 80% of our properties are beachfront, right? So this is the fundamental core of the business. It is the reason why we have identified that exposure to extreme weather events, uh, climate. Uh, change and natural disasters is our number one risk to the business, not only because of damages from hurricanes and flooding and erosion, but also increases in insurance prices to be able to ensure that our properties can persist into the future. And the family that owns this business is also from an island in Mallorca, so it became very relevant for us to pursue this work. Um, I want to talk, uh, both as a, a co-chair of the Tourism Action Coalition. for a sustainable ocean along with Mark, um, and, uh, and, and to really encourage us to find ways for us to build platforms for pre-competitive collaboration and most importantly action. This was one of the focuses that we had in mind when talking about taxo and we're very excited for, uh, the, the blue tourism, uh, resources, um, to be on, on a platform available to build and, and bring this knowledge together. Um, and as Seleni mentioned, we have a focus on these very specific quantitative time bound objectives, and, uh, while a lot of our focus right now has been describing what we are doing in on climate mitigation, I do wanna talk about one of the resources that we have uploaded into, uh, the Blue tourism resource port. which is our coastal health roadmap, we have an objective that all ecosystems that surround our properties are in improving ecological health in the places that we operate by 2030. And this resource we launched at the UN Ocean Conference in in Lisbon earlier this year and is intended to both guide other tourism companies. Demonstrate to the world how it is that we are thinking about our work on coastal health and also give examples of some of the time bound and quantitative objectives that we would like the public to hold us accountable to in order to achieve this goal of transitioning tourism to remain resilient and and and to build adaptation in our destinations and communities. So if we go to the next slide, I want to show a quick video that describes the coastal health roadmap as an overview. By 2030, all coastal ecosystems in Averosar destinations will be an improving health mangroves, coral reefs, dunes, sea grasses, and beyond, helping nature thrive from the Caribbean to the Mediterranean. Here's how we're doing it. Working to reduce the impact of storms and hurricanes by harnessing the incredible power of these ecosystems to shelter and our coasts. Advancing towards carbon neutrality by 2030 through protecting coastal ecosystems so that they help us mitigate climate change. Enhancing the tourism experience through maximizing beach and water quality, improving the well-being of guests, employees, and residents with green spaces. Fostering resilient communities by enabling guests to discover new places with those that have known them for generations. This is our commitment and our promise to a world where nature thrives alongside people. So if we go into the next slide, the coastal health roadmap details what our various KPIs and objectives are for these 5 business cases, as we call them, and why we think all coastal tourism businesses should be integrating the building of resilience, the protection of coastal ecosystems, and the integration of coastal communities as part of their bottom line, because, as Osborne mentioned and. And as, as we can see very clearly, the future of tourism depends on our ability to be able to remain resilient in, in these destinations for generations to come. I want to dive into two specific examples, but again I encourage you to take a look at the coastal health road map to see more details about the work, uh, that it is that we're doing in, in, in three of the other business cases that we've said, but the first one, has to do with meeting our carbon neutrality goal by 2030, um, and, uh, this. Particular is linked to our decarbonization strategy where Iberasar is working very heavily to reduce the emissions that come from our direct operations. In fact, we were just validated by SBTI for our ambition to decarbonize 85% of the emissions in our Scope One and Two. Uh, in over 8 years across, uh, across all of our destinations, many of whom are in transition for renewable energy transitions, um, and to have emissions that come from our supply chain, including our purchased goods and services, our constructions and any of the services that are considered a part of our offer, um, as tourism. But with all of that ambition by 2030, we still expect to have a roughly 500,000 metric ton carbon footprint, most of that, 96% of that, coming from our supply chain, um, and, and so we want to work on, uh, ensuring that in the process of reaching carbon neutrality we can really invest in the protection and restoration of nature in our destinations. And if we go to the next slide, I think this is a very obvious model for many of us who are part of this. that nature-based compensation will play a critical role in climate mitigation, but there are other benefits that also directly benefit our sector, the tourism sector, that really allow us to think creatively about how investing in protecting nature with a driver of climate mitigation also allows us to unlock additional benefits for other nature-based solutions and ecosystem services that come from the protection of these ecosystems. So in the next slide, what we're doing at Iberoar is first determining, um, and sorry the text got small there, but we're determining um a model that best benefits tourism where we can prioritize benefits to biodiversity and communities alongside with the carbon sequestration potential and importantly, since we aim to offset emissions mostly from our supply chain, we want to ensure that the investment considers strong measurement but favors action to multiply impact. This is primarily because we could invest endlessly to try and measure the carbon that is in a single apple that's used in our operations, um, or we could distribute that investment to make sure that we have approximate estimate of the carbon that's the embodied carbon in our purchased goods and services, and also use that investment to then look at restorative and regenerative tourism through our nature-based sequestration program. And if we go to the next slide, um, we have detailed and specific objectives that include reaching up to around 500,000 metric tons of carbon sequestration by 2030, with year over year targets that you can see in more detail in the resource, as well as an estimated up to 22,000 hectares of sustainably managed ecosystems in destinations where the protection of this nature is most important. If we go to the next slide, I want to also dive into a second of these business cases which really focuses on climate adaptation, focus on reducing risk derived from climate change impacts by implementing nature-based solutions um in our destinations. In the next slide, I think we've outlined and we've seen very directly that in addition to beach erosion and flooding from slower and more severe extreme weather events, sargassum removal and other practices exacerbates beach quality. And at the same time, the insurance premiums against natural disasters has risen to our number one single operative expense. From a single provider for our properties nearly doubling in the last 4 years really demonstrating this business case but as you can see very clearly from this image, uh, this is, this is a huge issue in order for us to ensure that we can maintain our coastlines, maintain our properties, and maintain the product, uh, the beach and the ocean, um, for our clients. If we go to the next slide, we're already starting to see that there are examples where when we have coastal ecosystem buffers we see less damage in in some of our properties. You can see a range of damages from the same hurricane event in 2020 if I'm remembering correctly, um, which hit our properties in in the Riviera Maya in Mexico. And so as a response we've designed our programs that focus on coastal ecosystems including dunes, mangroves, and primarily coral reef ecosystems to allow us to build protection and resilience in many of these, in these, in these key ecosystems. Um, when, uh, so Lenny had mentioned this science-based approach, we think it's absolutely critical, especially when a business is working to engage in coastal protection, uh, that we take a three-pronged approach. So in the next slide, um, we really, uh, invest in looking at the research, the management planning, and then ultimately transforming that into operations. We do this both internally by expanding the team. I now work with a team of over 25 signed. Scientists and researchers and experts to help us devise strategy and implement solutions, all of whom have come from other sectors, academia and the NGO and public sector, um, to help us to implement this sort of work within the research and management planning, but we also work very closely with partners, um, externally, uh, from the academic, um, institutions in our destinations as well as NGO partners to do this research and management planning. And then ultimately we see this as our duty to implement this into operations. Um, some examples where we can see that realized if we go to the next slide, um, was in order to facilitate this research we constructed a coral lab within one of our properties. This is in the Dominican Republic, and this lab not only allows our guests and employees to get a sense of what actually the nature is surrounding these areas and and why it's so valuable. for us to protect them. um, but we also know, and this is based off of work that I had also done in my PhD, that any reef restoration project could be wiped out in the span of months with future bleaching events if we don't also prepare to selectively use the winners, expected winners of, of climate change, um, in those operations. And so we've built a state of the art, uh, research facility where. We can recreate climate, um, events and actually find and unveil those winners before bleaching events occur and then disproportionately use them, um, in our restoration operations while maintaining an important level of both within species diversity and across species diversity, uh, in our work. Um, and if we go to the next slide, this is something that we're expanding across all of the destinations where we identify that coastal ecosystem. Can play a role in reducing risk derived from climate impacts and and uh we're also very thrilled to be doing this work in Montego Bay alongside Seascape Caribbean but also working with the government to see if we can establish a new marine sanctuary right in front of our property where the local fishing community that are living right next to us are actually converting their daytime jobs to become wardens. And coral restoration technicians within our, uh, within the sanctuary and then moving their fishing grounds to the boundaries of the sanctuary. Some examples of these public and private collaborations. We also have time-bound objectives for all of these goals, and you could see that in the last slide, um, where we get into much more detail about what specifically where we are measuring and how we plan to collectively increase these objectives year over year. And again, these are just two of the business cases that demonstrate further one of the resources that is in the Blue tourism resource portal that we encourage you and other businesses to take a look at to be inspired on how they can bring coastal restoration and coastal protection. Into their business models to really build their resilience and ability to be able to confront some of the major risks that we see for our businesses like climate change and biodiversity loss which increasingly we're working to transform that business model to be able to effectively integrate. Thank you. Thank you so much Megan for this very sort of comprehensive overview um in a snapshot too format um of your climate action. It's, it's very inspiring, um, and it's great to see how you're modeling responsible tourism as well and inviting and encouraging, um, others within. Uh, the tourism industry to really sort of learn from you and to contact you, you know, to, to be a part of, of this movement. So thank you so much for, um, for your presentation. Now again, I will ask if there are questions I saw a few pop up for Megan. Continue adding your questions please as we go along. Um, and now we would like to welcome Jeremy Samson, who's executive, uh, chief executive officer at the Travel Foundation. He's also chairman of the Future of Tourism Coalition, which I'm sure many of us have heard about and are a part of. Jeremy was instrumental in setting up the, uh, tourism, the future of. Tourism coalition in 2020, so this is all during COVID. These are the great things, some of the great things that came about right as we sort of reset. He's currently serves as chair of this global movement. Um, it represents 6 NGOs and more than 700 signatories. He, uh, is also a. Author of the Glasgow Declaration on Climate Action and Tourism launched at COP 26 in Scotland, um, and this is an initiative of the Travel Foundation as well as the UNWTO. They're co-leads on this. In his current role at, uh, the non at this nonprofit, Jeremy oversees a global team. Uh, he has positioned the organization as a leading international NGO in the tourism sector. Prior to his post in 2019, he's worked at the IUCN Center for Mediterranean Cooperation in Spain, where he helped launch the Meet Network, which is a destination management association for protected areas in Europe and North Africa. He's also served as president of the international tour operator Green Spot Travel. Um, so, uh, I would like to now turn the mic over to Jeremy for his presentation. Jeremy, warm welcome. Thank you, Seleni, and it's so nice to be here on World Tourism Day with all of you. Um, and of course, uh my fellow panelists, um, Osborne and, and Megan. It was great to hear you guys, um, present first and have the opportunity to, to follow up with some thoughts from my side. Um, I'm very excited also for the launch of this, um, uh, Blue tourism resource portal and to, uh, talk about today what we believe is an innovative new resource that we're still refining a bit, but very happy to contribute to this resource and to share with all of you. Osborne referred to destination challenges that are, are so familiar to, to many of us and yet it's really Um, encouraging to see all the innovation that's, that's happening in this space in, in so many places around the world. Megan, um, referred to, uh, the transition that Iberos Star is, is helping in many ways to, to lead and, and pointing the way for all of us. Uh, we're at a moment here where we're talking about words like adaptation and transformation because And on this World Tourism Day, I think it's important for us all to, to sit back and think business as usual is no longer viable given the changing paradigm and, and deepening crises that are facing us around the climate emergency and inequity in our global and tourism economies. So, it's really nice to have some practical tools and, and, uh, um, and, and, and thinking around how we can collaborate and work together in a meaningful way to, to move forward from a business as usual paradigm. If you're gonna move to the next slide, please. So, destinations are, are facing complex challenges, again, that many of us are aware of, but that require um them to understand the, the impacts of tourism in order to address those challenges and to understand them more deeply than, than ever before. From climate change to cost of living crises, to labor shortages, to damaging visitor behaviors and More importantly, each destination is trying to figure out how to get these impacts into balance with, of course, the, the positive impacts and, and, and opportunities that tourism brings to our destinations, and to prioritize the most critical areas within their own context, given future risk and opportunity and the necessary trade-offs that must be made at, at a, at a time where we are facing, um, you know, sort of increasing, uh, uh, increasing crises. And importantly, through initiatives like the Glasgow Declaration, I'm trying, we're trying to ensure that the big issues are not treated in a silo, as they often have been before, but truly become a lens for decision making. Next slide. We all know that DMOs, um, and, and those leading destinations are making transitions and increasingly exploring how to ensure that they have the, the mandate and the skills, um, and, uh, and, and the sort of organizational, uh, structure to be able to deliver on, on a changing, uh, paradigm. Um, and, in many ways, this whole conversation about transition within destination management has been underpinned by this concept of moving from volume to value. Um, I, I happen to, um, take, uh, take issue a bit with this concept of, of volume to value. Um, although the, uh, on the surface, I think the math works, um, and, and we can, it's really easy to think, OK, in places that are crowded, we will, we'll simply, um, bring less people and, and ensure that they are spending less money. Uh, or sorry, and spending more money, of course. But the, while the math may work on the surface, I, I think it's far too oversimplified and, and this concept of value, which in many ways is the right sentiment, requires a whole lot more nuance. We have to ask questions like value for whom? Who actually defines value in the first place, and if we don't apply an equity lens, or better yet, diversity, equity and inclusion, how can we possibly know if that value is actually being distributed in a fair and inclusive manner? And how do we know if value in in some senses is harming critical resources or creating unnecessary burdens on vulnerable places? DMOs increasingly are looking for new measures beyond traditional economic indicators that have been focused on year on year growth. And we know that destinations and their stakeholders are looking for tools to get a handle on the current situation and understand what levers they can pull um to begin to make, help to make this shift and redefine what success looks like. Next slide. I think in many ways, there are several ways to undergo this analysis, but the most critical one, I believe, is getting stakeholders to align what are often disparate agendas and, and go through a negotiation process to understand what their shared agenda looks like for redefining value and ultimately redefining success based around the goals and objectives that they can most easily align on. And to work together as a destination ecosystem towards collective action, as Megan mentioned in her presentation, pre-competitive collaboration. Um, we have also identified this concept alongside capacity building as two of the, the most critical, uh, efforts that are needed to move away from business as usual. And a stakeholder engagement approach to help everyone, as we say, see the whole picture, which is the first guiding principle of the future of tourism coalition, is key to identifying the priorities for real change. We also know that destinations and those who lead them, it's easy to go in many different directions and, and sometimes not even know where to start. So, having a tool to see the whole picture, where things may be out of balance and where to focus, um, we believe is, um, is a helpful contribution to this very challenging, uh, dilemma. Next slide. So, in order to try to address this, um, this sticky challenge, um, we've created a, a strategic approach that we're calling the optimal value framework, um, which can be used to help destination stakeholders work together to do 3 things. Number 1, understand and optimize the value of tourism for their community. 2, agree on more balanced measures of success, and 3, prioritize the impact areas most important for them to manage carefully and resource sufficiently. The framework helps to identify the strategic levers that increase the benefits and minimize the costs or negative impacts of tourism to destinations. It's centered on the values or contributions that tourism can offer or can detract from a destination, including economic, environmental, cultural, societal, individual, and mental, with each having the potential to contribute positively or negatively depending on the context. Next slide. We've designed the optimal value framework as a way for destination stakeholders to work together in defining what outcomes they most want tourism to deliver. This is the question we like to pose at the center of that conversation. Why do they want tourism? Tourism indeed is a choice. So what challenges are they most concerned about? How is tourism either exacerbating problems and failing to deliver on community values, or contributing towards those broader goals? And what future risks to achieving those goals exist at the heart. Next slide. A thorough analysis of the current situation against an impact framework that we've overlaid on this optimal value framework, and which is aligned with the future of tourism coalition guiding principles, where possible based on data that's available, um, can help to really inform key action recommendations. And ultimately, having completed this analysis, it results in a set of recommendations for better optimizing the value of tourism and destinations. Our hope is for this, these considerations to be considered in broader planning efforts and reflected on when analyzing new initiatives. It can also result in a set of indicators, including thresholds or early warning signals for destinations to use as a monitoring tool. Next slide. The Travel Foundation team and partners have been working through this model in various destinations from Tenerife and the Canary Islands to England's Peak District to Vail, Colorado, customizing and refining the approach along the way, and I expect that we'll continue to do so. In Vail, we have worked throughout this past year as part of a project team on a destination stewardship planning process, using the stakeholder engagement opportunities including public meetings, small discussion groups, focus groups, workshops, and surveys to really hone in on those priorities and key opportunities for Vail to better optimize the value of tourism, become a more balanced destination where negative impacts are minimized and positive benefits are maximized. Next. Priorities in Vil center around environmental and social values. The destination and it's um uh uh the town of Vail and, and its stakeholders have really actually worked quite hard over the last years towards a sustainability certification to the mountain ideal standard, and yet still sees many of these key areas out of balance. From a social perspective, their resident access and satisfaction is struggling due to cost of living that is sky-high, housing and workforce shortage, um, shortages and crises, resulting in overall declining livability. Energy use is outsized for a small community due to its tourism economy, which relies on a large, large scale snowmelt system for clearing roadways and its free transportation system, which is um helping to increase emissions. Next slide. The health of Val's only watershed is central to its identity as a tourism destination and as a community for residents. And that watershed is increasingly threatened by increasing impacts from tourism and from um outside uh outside threats such as climate change. So, we're developing indicators and early warning signals around climate action and watershed protection to focus on um how Vil can achieve a more balanced system, and we're advocating for watershed health to become a key lens for decision making in future plans. For example, um, the destination, as many destinations are when facing uh a change, shifting, rapidly shifting weather patterns, um, and, uh, you know, seasonality that, that seems to Moving around, many destinations are now exploring diversification strategies. Great, that makes sense. But if the, the only analysis on return on investment for those diversification strategies is economic, then we're sort of missing the point. At the end of the day, the impact on the watershed also must be crucial to that decision-making process. Uh, last line. With current discussions around volume to value or building back better, which if you've heard me speak before, I, I'd like to say it's quite an empty platitude. It's not a bad sentiment, but there's really an opportunity for destination stakeholders to define value together and better together, not solely from an economic perspective, but ensuring that conservation and community well-being values are also defined and prioritized to achieve balance in a tourism economy that's optimized for better outcomes. Destinations can work on so many initiatives in sustainability and regeneration. We, we've heard all the terms, but still be out of balance. So, a process that helps to identify key signals of a destination's overall health, which can be turned into a, a monitoring tool that can help destination stakeholders prioritize, drive their investment in stewardship activities, and ultimately define areas for innovation with private sector partners, and we believe is an important contribution to this overall pathway to better destination management. Thank you very much and looking forward to the rest of the discussion. Thank you so much Jeremy for offering up this new approach to engaging all stakeholders um in new ways to find better balance, balance and also optimal value as defined not by one but all stakeholder groups. So, um, a very lovely example that you have there. So now we're going to get into um uh the discussion um segment. So again just a reminder, put your questions please um into the chat box. I'd like to maybe go straight into some of the key elements that each of your uh presentations covered and dig a little bit deeper. So let's start with Megan. Um, Megan, you know, there's your science-based targets are very clear, um, and I wonder if through your experience, um, you've seen many misperceptions about carbon neutrality. What would you say is one of the biggest misperceptions that the industry has about carbon, um, neutrality? It's a great question, Lenny. I think ultimately the the drive to put a price on carbon is what carbon neutrality exists to be able to do. A great example is that when we said that we wanted to achieve carbon neutrality across what we estimated to be a 1 million metric ton footprint by 2030, right, it puts a business case to us being able to say, do we want to in 2030 with our business growth spend the Number of tons times the price of carbon to offset per ton, which is probably going to be around $200 per ton by 2030, right, which is a massive business case to be able to put a number on the price of carbon. And for us we use carbon neutrality as that driver to be able to say how do we think about a business case to internalize some of these externalities, right? But in reality when you're, when you're looking at how SBTI defines it or how greenhouse gas protocol asks different. Kinds of sectors to measure their carbon footprint, it becomes very complicated very quickly because you get into these really clear technicalities of what you should include in scope, what you should include outside of scope. An example for us in tourism is most of our emissions that come from our supply chain, and our supply chain includes things that we don't control, right, up to 5 to 6 times removed primary producers that ultimately are really hard for us to be able to, to influence or manage, right? It's part of our carbon footprint because we're defining that very holistically and broadly, and yet another business may choose to just focus on their direct emissions as what they're calling as their footprint and what they want to use as carbon neutrality. So I think carbon neutrality can be a tricky subject to engage in, but in essence, I think it is intended to give you a business case, make you think about measurement, and make you think about decarbonizing to the most positive impact that you can in our destinations, which is the approach we're trying to take at Iberostar. Thank you for that very on target. um, so Jeremy, you've mentioned balance quite a bit in your presentation. It seems like a fundamental concept of this optimal value framework that you've shared details with us about um, how do you define balance and most importantly, how can destinations maintain this balance over time? Mhm. Yeah, well, it's not up to me to define balance actually. It's up to the destination stakeholders to define that balance for themselves. And actually, I think that's one of the challenges, you know, there's nothing wrong with universal frameworks that help to, to, um, to start that discussion and sort of lay out the, the full picture. Um, but it is for destinations to arrive at that, uh, at that, uh, at that decision, uh, through a, a, a process of consultation and negotiation and engagement. I, I, I'm under no illusion that that's an easy thing to do. Um, but I, I think what, uh, uh, I, I, I think first of all, it's, it's really critical that, that destinations are together identifying what, um, You know, this question, what, what do we want from tourism? What, what is most important for us, um, to achieve, and what, what is it that is most important that we protect and use that to define the goals. Um, balance can then, um, help, uh, uh, you know, can be defined by, uh, what, what is it that is going to allow, um, the destination over time to Achieve those, those broader goals and objectives. Um, but that, that's a conversation that needs to be had, uh, and needs to be had in a, in a way that actually, um, I think brings out some of the, the tough conversations because it is ultimately about trade-offs, um, at the end of the day. There is no perfect solution, there is no perfect formula. There are trade-offs that ultimately need to be made and it's not up to one individual stakeholder to make that decision. So, the way that balance ultimately can be maintained, I think there are two things. Um, well, there's many, but uh just to hone in on the, the sort of, I, I think the critical aspects there. Um, one of those is that if, um, if stakeholders are able to come to coalesce around some key Um, you know, some key elements of that shared agenda. What are the, uh, uh, Vil is a really nice example. Ultimately, yes, there are conflicts between stakeholders. Everyone wants different things. There are disparate agendas, but the watershed is an agenda that no one could disagree with. The water, without the watershed, there is no community. There is no future, there is no, um, you know, there is no, um, future for the visitor economy or for, for local residents. Um, so, putting This kind of shared agenda in the middle, um, demonstrating, uh, um, over time, how stakeholders can continue to work together with this agenda in the middle, um, developing a governance process that allows for that common agenda to, to be, um, maintained and for, um, you know, and for, uh, uh, initiatives to, to align around that common agenda, and ultimately having the, the data or the Um, you know, the monitoring tool in place that's going to, um, allow, uh, any evolved governance to be able to monitor when the threat to that shared agenda is, um, you know, I, I, is, is, or the balance that, that, that, the destination has defined is, is, is under some sort of threat. Oftentimes, destinations find themselves in a reactive place, um, but we are proposing that, that, um, causal indicators be, be identified that really help the stakeholders to understand long before just like COVID, you know, we were talking a lot about flattening the curve beforehand, and I, I think it's, it's quite similar in a way, right? Like, why do we wait until the, why do we wait until the end, uh, rather than understanding this balance is, is, is something that we are, um, uh, that we are concerned about and let's find the interventions that may, we, we may be able to align them to help us ensure that that balance remains. Some key points there, right? So beyond just the negotiating is having in place those governance structures and then the monitoring piece there to be able to to track and hold each other accountable to what's happening over time. Thank you so much, Jeremy. um, Osborne, I'm sure that we have, uh, destinations um that that are joining us and. And um I wonder, you know, you could say wow this is a this is a super comprehensive approach you know the government at a national level um is has really worked to put in place new policies provide that guidance to strategy frameworks, etc. and then the ministry has these like. Very specific initiatives, um, so there's a lot going on there, um, where should destination tourism organizations start, um, in addressing let's look at climate adaptation in particular because that's what you zoomed in on in your converse in your presentation. Right. Um, uh, just like you said, the, the whole development of that, uh, policy framework, um, is, is critical in, in, in establishing, like I mentioned in, in my presentation, the enabling environment because that is paramount to be able to effectively address any climate change concerns. But, uh, it's important that these policies must be coherent, um, they have to be integrated and they have to be consistent. And so, You, you will know that um climate change is not necessarily um being run through my ministry, but it is, it is a, a, a national led initiative by the ministry with responsibility for environment and climate change. And they have established that policy framework which, which establishes that, that enabling environment. Um, and so they have instituted the dedicated public bodies. That have the responsibility for implementation and for providing advice and guidance to the policymakers and so what we do in tourism is that we support the policy development process we support through implementing the necessary strategies on our end to align those. Those strategies with both the, the global and, and the, and the environmental commitments, um, the climate change commitments so that they can be as effective as possible. And so this effective partnership and collaboration among um the different sectors, uh, tourism, for example, collab. Collaborating with the other ministries as well as the private sector, including our private sector in the process, in the policy development process, as well as to include the community in that process is is very, very critical. And so this, this dialogue that we're trying to foster. And to, and to build that technical cooperation between um all the, all the different stakeholders through that knowledge sharing process and expertise um is very crucial, especially when we're talking about climate change commitments and climate change action. And so, that is, that, that, that is where we have to start, um, and then we can move into, into the, the actual implementation process going down the, down the road. I think you're muted, Cellini. Thank you so much, Osborne, um, for offering, you know, a starting point, uh, for destinations that may be thinking, wow, there's a lot happening, where should we start? Um, so we're almost at the hour, so I'd like to ask one sort of final question to, um, our, uh, keynote speakers today. Um, let's think of the audience here and if there was one thing that you would hope that, um, people in the audience do today. Uh, as a result of your work and the conversations that we've had here as well as the launch of this, uh, new blue tourism resource portal, what would it be? Let's start with you, Jeremy. Sure. Um, I think it's time that we, we sort of move beyond definitions and the sort of ongoing discussion about definitions and to think much differently about these concepts, destination, stewardship, sustainability. Um, to me, it's about seeing the whole picture and understanding what is causing a, a system, whether it's a global system, uh, local system, a regional system to be out of balance. And to really hone in on those key measures of success, those outcomes that could lead to real change, and that would help to prioritize the key drivers that matter most. I mean, we're at a time of emergency, climate emergency and inequity in our economy, and without prioritization, um, there will be no way to, to work toward balance and address those challenges. So I'd encourage us to sort of cut the noise and, and, and try to identify, um, how we can better see that whole picture. Great insights, Megan. Yeah, I think a lot of us are all talking about this need for a rethink, and that rethink will require collaboration at a scale we've never seen before, right? And I think my biggest sort of takeaway or a piece of advice would be to Question our own prejudices of those that we would need to collaborate with or assumptions of what those stakeholders may bring to the table. I went through this transformation myself when I was initially skeptical of joining a business to be able to run this program when coming from academia and of course in coming to the other side, you realize that. There's a lot of really value-driven leaders in a business context who want to be able to engage but don't quite yet know how. And I think we can all work on this sort of bidirectional or multidirectional literacy to be able to interpret how public sector, how NGO and how private sector may be thinking about these problems to be able to more effectively collaborate with each other. Wonderful. Thank you, Megan Osborne. Uh, just to say that, um, well, we're all speaking the same language and quite frankly, I believe that, uh, we're speaking to the converted already. And just to say that, uh, this sustainability, um, sustainable management of our natural resources and the environment, particularly when we twin that with tourism, I believe that, um, we have the power to, to solve many of the challenges that we face in the world. Uh, but at the same time, we need the support and the commitment from all stakeholders. We need the buy-in, especially from the, the, the political directorate in our, in our countries, and so we have to be, um, very forceful in. In getting them to to learn um what we're doing, to understand the importance of what we're doing, and, and most importantly to to make it a priority. And then, um, so the one thing that I hope you do today is to get involved, um, is to be a part of the change, um, and you can do that right now by, by becoming a, a, a, a partner in this, in this blue tourism, um, um, portal because there are tons of resources and tools that are available that can benefit, um, everyone, um, every destination, uh, every country, every individual. And so we can also benefit from you, um, so get on with it and, and assist us to, to, to assist you. Thank you. So from these wonderful presentations we're taking away so many critical points. I hope um we know that we don't need to start from scratch as uh Osborne just reminded us there is this new resource um that you have at your fingertips literally uh to access knowledge um and you know uh get your journey started um so we know too that we can. Uh, learn from each other vicariously through the use of these tools, um, and that we will need to connect the dots differently as Jeremy mentioned, you know, in order to go beyond business as usual. So here's one question and this is a little bit, um, uh, much broader thinking of tourism and its intersection with fisheries which, you know, we're talking about blue tourism today. Um, so this is Megan mentioned collaborations with fisheries and Jeremy talked about defining value together with different stakeholders. I'd be interested in hearing more about how panel members are dealing with possible conflict interests between tourism and fisheries stakeholders. I can certainly speak to that a little bit, um, uh, and in the example that I brought from the sanctuary that we're working towards in Montego Bay, there's a community that is, uh, depending on subsistence fishing which from many of our ecological surveys we've demonstrated that some of the key grazers are exacerbating the health of the coral reef ecosystem and declining our ability to use that ecosystem to its fullest potential. For coastal protection we needed to engage in these sorts of discussions on on what were their needs and how could we work with them to be able to look towards understanding the the the necessities and the collaboration that had not yet been existing until the point when we engaged in this dialogue around coastal protection with these communities and as I've mentioned we've worked collaboratively with them together. Alongside a model that has been demonstrated multiple times in in Jamaica through Ocabeza where there's an example of being able to work with fishing communities and have them lead the design and implementation and work towards job conversion and improvement of gear technology to be able to coexist and manage for the benefit of all, right, for higher biomass in many of these ecosystems and for higher ecosystem services for coastal protection. But I would also say too that those are some examples of conflict. We're also finding very strongly that there are benefits and synergies between coastal tourism and particularly small scale artisanal fisheries. In the work that we're doing in, in our, our work to have 100% of our seafood responsibly sourced, we quickly discovered that if we wanted to define that to a high rigorous standard, we would have needed to import nearly all of the seafood because there are not many fishery improvement projects or others in many. of our destinations and so that didn't work and we needed to think about ways that tourism could bring a model to lift up local fisheries. We're doing this work with the spiny lobster fishery and White House in Jamaica as well, as well as many other examples. But there's just a quick example on how there can actually be synergies where coastal tourism can be a driver for small scale artisanal fisheries that may not otherwise have the incentives to access exports to international markets, which is where certifications usually play a really major role. Um, but to have drivers to do better in their sustainability, that's also for the benefit of coastal communities and the benefit of, of, of fisheries and tourism, um, in, in many of our destinations. So I think those are examples of conflict towards collaboration and there are also examples of synergies from the very beginning that we can draw from in a tourism context. Wonderful examples. Thank you so much, Megan, um, for offering these. um, we offer our heartfelt, um, thank you and gratitude to Minister Bartlett, to Megan, to Osborne, to Jeremy for joining us today and sharing your insights. Um, go to, go to, please make sure to check out the Blue tourism resource portal, and I would like to now turn it over to Louise Twining Ward from the World Bank for the official closing. Thank you so much, Saleni, and thank you all for such a rich discussion and knowledge exchange today in celebration of World Tourism Day. I think you've clearly laid out some of the challenges, uh, and the urgency, uh, for place-based solutions. We really, really hope that you're gonna use this Blue tourism resource portal. We hope it'll be a great start to your sustainability, uh, journey. And particular thanks to our collaborators, Saxo, the Ocean Foundation, World Resources Institute. To GW University, our knowledgeable panelists, wonderful moderator, Saleni, thank you, um, and all our participants today. It really does take a village. This is a public-private, civil society, um, innovation, and we hope that you'll use it. Um, this wouldn't have been possible without the support of Pro Blue, without the support of the World Bank Group Partnership Fund for Sustainable Development Goals. So thank you. Please bookmark the site, see it there. Um, ocean tourism.org/portal. Share it with your colleagues. Uh, and please do consider becoming a blue tourism portal. We really hope that you'll take this opportunity to rethink tourism in a bluer direction. Thank you so much, uh, and have a wonderful rest of your World Tourism Day. Goodbye.

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