CARIBBEAN TOURISM HEALTH, SAFETY AND RESOURCE CONSERVATION PROJECT (CTHSRCP)

Mission

To help make the Caribbean the Safest, Happiest and Healthiest of comparable destinations in the world

BACKGROUND

Governments in the Caribbean have come to recognise Tourism’s actual and potential contribution to their economies and are giving the sector a higher political priority than before. Thus, economic policy objectives increasingly centre on Tourism’s ability to generate employment, earn foreign exchange and contribute significantly to government revenue.

This growing dependence of social and other sectors on the Tourism industry as a mainstay, emphasises the need to protect and maintain the quality of the tourism product throughout the region. Among the many challenges that Caribbean Tourism must face is the increasing environmental degradation such as deforestation, water pollution, coastal erosion and increasing risks of infectious diseases.

It is therefore clear that the provision of a safe and healthy visitor experience, as well as ensuring environmental sustainability, are critical elements in improving the competitiveness of the sector. In order to address these concerns, the Caribbean Epidemiology Centre and the Caribbean Alliance for Sustainable Tourism have formed an alliance to jointly develop and implement the Caribbean Tourism, Health, Safety and Resource Conservation Project. This project is being funded jointly by the Inter-American Development Bank (IADB) and the two partners.

MAIN ACTIVITIES

The Caribbean Tourism, Health, Safety and Resource Conservation Project was formally launched in Barbados on April 30, 1999. The launch was well attended by members of the Tourism and Health sectors in Barbados, including the Minister of Health. The Minister of Tourism, Barbados gave the feature address and greetings were brought by the President of the Caribbean Hotel Association (CHA), Deputy Secretary-General, Caribbean Tourism Organisation (CTO), President of the Barbados Hotel and Tourism Association, and from the International-American Development Bank (IADB) Country office in Trinidad and Tobago.

Continued advocacy on health in sustainable tourism was actively pursued with attendance at several CHA conferences and workshops, with continued membership in the CHA Environmental Committee and the Small Hotels Committee, participation in CHA Board meetings and presentations at Annual General Meetings. Presentations were made at the CTO Sustainable Tourism Conference in Suriname and at the Annual Caribbean Tourism Conference in the Dominican Republic.

Linkages with the Caribbean Programme Coordination were maintained with the inclusion of the Caribbean Programme Coordinator on the Project Steering Committee and with the participation of the project team in the development of the PAHO/CTO Tourism and Health sensitisation project.

MAJOR ACHIEVEMENTS

The Major Achievements of the project to date are as follows:

Needs Assessment Survey

The field work for this survey was conducted among 191 hotels in 33 countries and 200 food establishments in the 4 pilot countries. The assistance of both the Tourism and Health Sectors (private and public) have been enlisted in the implementation of this survey whose results will help inform the Standards Development process and the development of relevant training programmes for the industry. It has been projected that the response rate for the questionnaires would be approximately 50%.

Strategic Planning and Team Building Workshop

A Strategic Planning and Team Building workshop for the project team and key personnel in the co-executing agencies was successfully convened in Tobago, in September 1999. This workshop allowed staff to review the goals of the Project to clarify roles and responsibilities and to build a team approach to achieving these. Follow-up sessions will be carried out six-months after the initial session along with an annual review to assess the progress of the Project toward its goals and to monitor the progress of the team members as they work together.

A Strategic Action Plan has been developed that charts the activities and milestones of the project over the next three years.

Standards Development Process

Planning and Organisation of the Standards Development Process began in August, 1999. A request for proposal was sent out to selected firms in October 1999. In order to facilitate the Standards Development Process a meeting of technical experts will be held in March 2000. Regional and International experts have been invited and will share their knowledge and expertise in the following areas:

Group I

Hotel Management — Policies, Procedures and Practices

Community Integration and Collaboration

Health and Illness Monitoring

Safety, Security and Disaster Planning and Response

Group II

Water Supply and Sewage Treatment

Air Quality and Pollution Control

Solid Waste Management and Integrated Pest Management

Occupational Health

Group III

Food Safety and Sanitation

Group IV

Energy and Conservation and Facilities Maintenance

Water Conservation

Recreational use of Natural Resources

Management of Coastal and Natural Sites

The services of an International Agency, National Sanitation Foundation International, has been secured to prepare the first draft of Standards and audit criteria for the areas described, based on existing national, regional and international standards and codes of practice. These will be reviewed at the meeting of technical experts. It is the project’s intention to utilise a process that is collaborative and inclusive of all stakeholders, public and private. An iterative process will be used to arrive at standards that will be the basis of the audit criteria for conducting self and independent audits and for training and marketing.

HIV/AIDS in the Workplace — A Programme for the Tourism Industry

The increased Tourist demand for adventure and romance is evident in the continuing trend of sexual interactions between visitors and host population. Of concern therefore, is the HIV/AIDS epidemic potential of this interaction and its negative impact not only on the tourism industry but also on public health and the national economy. The CTHSRC Project recognizes the importance of the travel and tourism industry to the Caribbean’s economic development and acknowledges that the growth and profitability of the industry are dependent on healthy and sustainable operating systems.

As part of its standards development process and its education and training programmes, the CTHSRC Project has begun to collaborate with key stakeholders in the tourism industry and health sector in the development of policies, procedures and practices that protect the health of visitors and host population, with particular reference to HIV/AIDS.

Supported by a German Technical Cooperation (GTZ) grant of US$50,000 and technical assistance from CAREC’s SPSTI Unit, the Project’s team has developed a participatory initiative, the specific objective of which is to increase the capability of the tourism sector to pro-actively respond to the HIV/AIDS epidemic.

To this end, HIV/AIDS sensitization sessions were conducted with the Board of Directors of the Hotel Associations in Trinidad and Tobago, Barbados and Jamaica during the last quarter of 1999, to increase their awareness of the magnitude of the HIV/AIDS epidemic and to solicit their involvement in further design of the programme. Bahamas is scheduled for the first quarter of 2000.

The high point of the HIV/AIDS tourism programme is the development of HIV/AIDS policy guidelines and educational material specific to the industry. This will be undertaken during two-day workshops for industry managers, human resource officers, hotel doctors and nurses and trade union representatives. The workshops will be facilitated by the Ministry of Health and National AIDS Programme of each of the four pilot countries with support from CAREC’s SPSTI Unit. This would be followed by a series of HIV/AIDS prevention "Train-the Trainer" workshops for industry trainers and hotel doctors and nurses.

Mobilisation of Funds

Additional resources for the wider implementation of the Project activities have been successfully mobilised through grants totaling US$370,000 and US$50,000 from the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) and the (GTZ), respectively. The grant agreement between PAHO/CAREC and the CDB is being negotiated.

ADMINISTRATION

A Steering Committee comprising key representatives from the private and public sectors has been established to sanction the work of the project and to provide third-party verification for the establishment of standards, certification and the registration process. The Steering Committee met twice during 1999 and gave valuable direction to the project.

During 1999 emphasis was placed on establishing the administrative and management procedures and processes to allow the effective functioning of the Project Execution Unit (PEU). A full complement of staff was achieved within 5 months of start-up, with 5 members of the Team located in Trinidad and Tobago at the CAREC offices and 1 member located in Puerto Rico at the CAST offices.

The team comprises the following:

	Project Manager Yvonne Roberts-White
	Technical Specialist John Fabien
	Training Specialist Bernice Dyer-Regis
	Information Specialist Mabel Sanabria*
	Accountant/Administrator Joel Boisson
	Administrative Assistant Gemma Burroughs
	*Ms. Sanabria is based at the CAST office in Puerto Rico.

The team is now fully functional, having been provided with the equipment and procedures necessary for implementation of programme activities.

By December 31, 1999, the Project had benefited from a total contribution of US $349,473.00, with the IADB providing US $251,289.00, and US $98,184.00 being contributed by CAREC/CAST.

The Project had its first evaluation as part of a review of the five IADB-funded tourism related projects in the Caribbean. It was deemed the most effective project in terms of vision, design and execution to date.

HEALTH AND TOURISM

	There were reported influenza outbreaks in The Turks and Caicos Islands, Bermuda and Cayman Islands. There was a possible link between influenza outbreaks aboard cruise ships coming out of US Ports.
	In March 1999, there was an outbreak of Shigellosis in the Turks and Caicos Islands at a major all-inclusive resort.
	In April, an outbreak of Gastroenteritis was reported among 67 United States visitors who had visited the Dominican Republic and stayed at a major resort
	An outbreak of Salmonella was reported among Canadian tourists returning from the Dominican Republic in April.

	In March/April two cases of Legionnaires’ disease were reported among Dutch visitors to Curacao, one of whom died.
	In November, three cases of Legionnaires’ Disease was reported among European visitors who stayed at resorts in the Dominican Republic. Two (2) of the three reported cases died.

Caribbean Epidemiology Centre
16-18 Jamaica Boulevard, Federation Park
P.O. Box 164, Port of Spain
Republic of Trinidad and Tobago
Tel: (868) 622-4261, Fax: (868) 622-2792
E-mail: postmaster@carec.paho.org

Page last modified 04 July, 2001