SAVE THE DATE

2009 Hurricane Preparedness and Response Training Workshops for the Tourism Sector



The Ministry of Tourism in partnership with the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management (ODPEM) and the Jamaica Hotel and Tourist Association (JHTA) will stage a series of one-day Hurricane Preparedness and Response Training Workshops during the month of July. There is no cost to attend. One (1) senior manager or senior personnel with portfolio responsibility for emergency management in your hotel/ villa or attraction is invited to attend the session. Please save the date for the workshop in your area. Venues will be announced shortly.



Negril July 7

South Coast July 13 updated

Ocho Rios July 9

Montego Bay July 13

Port Antonio July 15

Kingston July 17



These training sessions are part of the Ministry of Tourism’s Multi-hazard Contingency Programme, which aims to safeguard the well-being and safety of visitors and tourism workers and to minimize damage and downtime to the sector. The aim of the workshops is to building the capacity of participants to respond effectively to hurricanes and other natural disasters. This will ultimately allow them to contribute to the sector’s earliest recovery.



By the end of this training exercise, participants should be able to prepare and execute comprehensive hurricane plans, and should have an understanding of:

Benchmarks and best practices in hurricane preparedness;
Approaches for assessing their organization’s level of preparedness;
Procedures on how the establishment should respond to hurricanes;
Steps for ensuring business continuity;
How hurricanes will impact on your employees, guests as well as goods, service and utility providers;
Good media management and crisis communication practices;
The mechanism for interfacing with the Tourism Emergency Operations Centre.


Forecasters predict that there will be nine to fourteen named storms in the 2009 Atlantic Hurricane Season, of which four to seven could become hurricanes, including one to three major hurricanes (Category 3, 4 or 5). Severe weather events have the potential to cause significant downturn in tourism and in the Jamaican economy as a whole. We therefore urge you to take part.



For further information, please contact Ms. Francine Mitchell at 920-4926-30 or 908-5941. Kindly complete and return the attached registration form to the Ministry of Tourism by email to francine.mitchell@mot.gov.jm or fax to 920-4944. SPACE IS LIMITED, SO PLEASE REGISTER EARLY.



We assure you that this workshop will be beneficial to you and your organization, and look forward to your participation.

I've just been notified the date for Treasure Beach has been changed to July 13.

Does this mean the South Coast workshop will be held in T/B? Do you know the hours for the workshop?

The workshop will be held at the Treasure Beach Hotel on July 13th from 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM.

There is no charge.