CARPHA introduces new hospitality industry standards for the Region

CARPHA introduces new hospitality industry standards for the Region

SCARBOROUGH, Tobago.  November 2022.  Building upon the Caribbean’s innovative and successful partnership between tourism and health, the Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA) has launched the first CARICOM-approved health safety and environmental (HSE) hospitality standards to improve health, safety, and environmental quality in the regional hospitality sector.

 

The standards – which include Food Safety and Sanitation; Energy Management; Water Treatment and Management; Sewage Treatment and Management; Solid Waste Management; Integrated Pest Management; and Environmental Management Systems – were unveiled by CARPHA at the Magdalena Grand Beach and Golf Resort in Tobago on Monday 14 November 2022, with the support of senior officials of the Tobago government, the Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO), and the Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association (CHTA).

 

Dr. Joy St. John, CARPHA’s Executive Director, who earlier this year signed an agreement with CARICOM Regional Organisation for Standards and Quality (CROSQ) to further develop the standards, said these seven regional clean and green standards are a key component for providing assurances to travelers about the company’s commitment to health safety and towards avoiding or mitigating health threats to the Caribbean tourism product.

 

Each standard area is equipped with a checklist assessment to easily guide the industry through a process of recognizing and achieving the standards.  Upon completion, the company will be eligible to receive CARPHA’s Tourism Health Program (THP) Healthier, Safer, Tourism Award.

 

“There is now a verifiable way of having the suite of standards act as a crucial tool for establishing the quality of Caribbean tourism,” Dr. St. John added.

 

Health and tourism professionals throughout the Caribbean have placed a high priority on the well-being and health safety of the industry’s employees and travelers.  Through a unique partnership established by CARPHA in 2014, the Caribbean was well-positioned to rebound from the impact of COVID-19.  Health safety standards specific to the pandemic and tourism were quickly put in place in 2020 and thousands of employees were trained.  This contributed to the Caribbean’s ability to rebound from the pandemic, with tourism recovering faster in the region than any other area in the world.

 

Apart from benefits to the socioeconomic well-being of the region, the adoption and implementation of these standards by the Caribbean tourism industry will provide the opportunity for properties enrolled in the Caribbean Travelers Health Assurance Stamp for Healthier Safer Tourism (HST) to progress from the classic award to a silver award if four of the standards are met and a gold award for meeting the requirements of seven standards.

 

The standards are currently voluntary and certified properties that meet all seven standards will be eligible for a platinum distinction.

 

Dr. Lisa Indar, CARPHA’s Director of the Surveillance Disease Prevention and Control Division, who recently facilitated THP stakeholder training in preparation for the Tobago carnival last month and who spearheaded the THP from its inception in 2014, was congratulated by senior officials for her dedication and commitment to the process of standard development since 2018.

 

Dr. Faith B. Yisrael, Deputy Chief Secretary and Secretary for Health, Wellness and Social Protection, Division of Health, Wellness and Social Protection, Tobago House of Assembly, congratulated CARPHA and its partners for developing the standards. She encouraged tourism stakeholders to utilize them and not leave them on shelves gathering dust: “If we pull together and if we actually follow these robust standards …. we would all really truly survive whatever is to come next.”

 

Councilor Tashia Burris, Secretary for Tourism, Culture, Antiquities and Transportation, Division of Tourism, Culture, Antiquities and Transportation, Tobago House of Assembly, said the COVID-19 pandemic has shown that having robust policies, standards and regulations can help save lives and livelihoods.

 

Neil Walters, Acting CTO Secretary General, believes the standards are another incremental step towards ensuring the future of the region’s tourism sector: “I believe we are laying the foundation for a more sustainable, world-class, regional tourism sector as this very important sector moves forward in its recovery.”

 

Frank Comito, Special Advisor to CHTA, which has supported the health and safety awards program from its inception, noted that the standards can uplift the tourism industry’s continued commitment to the health and safety of its employees and visitors, “which can help us to deliver our promise to the world and there is no better place for mental, physical and spiritual well-being than in the Caribbean.”

Tags

Categories

News, New at CARPHA

Share

Rating

2.00 ( 1 reviews)
  • Recent
  • Popular
  • Tag
  • CARPHA Encourages Persons to Know their Blood Pressure

    CARPHA Encourages Persons to Know their Blood Pressure

    0 Comments

    Port-of-Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, May 16, 2014: The Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA) is calling on persons to know their blood pressure, strive to keep it healthy or lower it. This is in keep...
  • CARPHA and CTO Launch Tourism and Health Programme

    0 Comments

    CARPHA and CTO successfully launched the regional tourism and health programme and conducted an awareness and discussion workshop on Friday May 2, 2014 in Aruba. The keynote address was given by the M...
  • CARPHA’s new Chairman of the Board

    CARPHA’s new Chairman of the Board

    0 Comments

    Port-of-Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, October 02, 2013: The Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA) is pleased to announce the appointment of the Honourable Colin Riley, Minister of Health of Montserrat...
  • Saint Lucia Joins Regional Project to Build Public Health Capacity

    Saint Lucia Joins Regional Project to Build Public Health Capacity

    0 Comments

    Castries, Saint Lucia, September 04, 2014. The Ministry of Health, Wellness, Human Services and Gender Relations, in collaboration with the Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA), is launching the Ca...
  • New CARPHA lab to help region respond to health threats

    New CARPHA lab to help region respond to health threats

    1 Comments

    The Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA) moved today one step forward in its mission to provide strategic direction in analyzing, defining and responding to public health priorities of CARICOM, in ...
  • GRANT WRITING WORKSHOP

    0 Comments

    The Center for Global Health of the National Cancer Institute (NCI), National Institutes of Health (NIH) in the U.S., in collaboration with the Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA), St. George's Un...
  • CR-FELTP Trains New Mentors in Jamaica

    CR-FELTP Trains New Mentors in Jamaica

    0 Comments

    Caribbean Regional Field Epidemiology and Laboratory Training Programme (CR-FELTP) Trains New Mentors in Jamaica The Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA) hosted a four-day workshop in Kingston, Jam...
  • Risk of Ebola in the Caribbean

    Risk of Ebola in the Caribbean "Low"

    0 Comments

    Port-of-Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, August 06, 2014: The Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA) says the risk of the Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) being imported to the Caribbean is low. Executive Direct...
  • Risk Communication Training to Help Senior Health Officials Better Manage Health Threats

    0 Comments

    Risk Communication Training to Help Senior Health Officials Better Manage Health Threats Providenciales, Turks and Caicos, June 19, 2016: "Risk communication is an important tool in managing health th...
  • Influenza Activity in the Caribbean

    Influenza Activity in the Caribbean

    2 Comments

    Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, September 26, 2013. The Caribbean, like other regions in the Americas, experiences seasonal influenza activity. Improved health monitoring by Ministries of Health i...