O-01 Implementation of the Tourism and Health Program for Recovery and Resilience during COVID-19: The St. Lucia Model
Author(s):
L Atkins, S Kissoondan, L Indar
Type Of Study:
- Experimental or Intervention Study
Year of Presentation:
2023
Objective: To highlight the collaborative process involved in implementing the Tourism and Health Program (THP) in St. Lucia (SLU) for promoting sustainable and resilient recovery of the tourism sector.
Methods: Through public-private partnerships and numerous stakeholder engagements, the implementation in SLU followed the THP stepwise implementation framework. This involved initial concurrence from SLU, collaboration amongst THP, the Chief Medical Officer, Ministries of Health and Tourism and SLU Hotel and Tourism Association and Tourism Authority, formation of a National Steering Committee, numerous trainings for the tourism stakeholders followed by an in-country launch. The inclusion of THP’s regional tools into country protocol and adoption of a THP Travel Safe Brand Ambassador also ensued.
Results: The THP was launched in St Lucia in September 2021; 29 persons were certified in advanced food safety; 573 persons participated in the COVID-19 and Tourism and Health Information System (THiS) training, 16 facilities issued the Caribbean Travelers Health Assurance award, 22 new facilities registered on THiS with no outbreak alerts; 84 alerts of ships with COVID-19 cases provided, and health and tourism partnerships strengthened.
Conclusion: COVID-19 has resulted in socio-cultural and economic impacts on tourism stakeholders and disruption to the sector. However it created a ‘fertile’ new context for a paradigm shift. CARPHA, in partnership with the SLU’s Ministries of Health and Tourism saw COVID-19 as a transformational opportunity to reset standards and metrics for surveillance in the health and tourism sectors and accelerate technology innovation and change through the implementation of THP.