Jamaica and Minister Edmund Bartlett present a new "tool" for the digital age of tourism: how to defend a destination's reputation when a crisis starts online
Global tourism is entering a period where the decisions of travelers, investors, and airlines are increasingly made less on the basis of official brochures and promotional spots, and more on what "lives" about a destination on social networks, search engines, and review platforms. In such an environment, the reputation of a place becomes as important as hotel capacity, infrastructure quality, or the number of flights. Precisely at this point, Jamaica, through its Minister of Tourism Edmund Bartlett, is trying to set a new agenda: resilience is no longer viewed only as the ability to recover after a hurricane, pandemic, or political unrest, but also as the ability to preserve trust in a destination when digital narratives spin out of control.
On February 17, 2026, the presentation of the publication
Destination Reputational Resilience was announced in Kingston, which Jamaica's Minister of Tourism Edmund Bartlett positions as a response to the growing problem of "reputational hits" in an era of accelerated digital disruptions. According to available information from Jamaican and international tourism media, it is a framework that offers destinations and tourism leaders a way to identify, measure, and mitigate damage caused by misinformation, viral videos, coordinated smear campaigns, or simply misinterpreted events that can turn into a global crisis of confidence within hours.
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Why "reputational resilience" has become the new currency of tourism
Tourism crises have traditionally been associated with physical events: natural disasters, security incidents, strikes, or health threats. However, in recent years there have been more and more situations in which the problem does not arise first on the ground but on the screen. In practice, this can mean that a single viral post, a video without context, or an incorrect claim about safety at a location creates a perception that is difficult to correct later, even when institutions present official data. In such an environment, reputation ceases to be a "marketing category" and becomes an integral part of risk management.
Bartlett's approach aims to treat reputation as critical tourism infrastructure. According to reports from several publications covering this topic, the key is recognizing that damage is often measured not only by a drop in bookings in a single week but also by long-term "reputational friction": slower recovery of demand, rising promotion costs, more cautious investors, and pressure on local communities that depend on tourism revenue.
In this context, reputational resilience implies a series of steps: constant monitoring of the digital space, readiness for fast and credible communication, coordination of the public and private sectors, and pre-prepared protocols for situations where the "information storm" develops faster than classic crisis headquarters.
Connection with Global Tourism Resilience Day and the Nairobi Conference
The announcement of the publication is timed to coincide with the marking of Global Tourism Resilience Day, an initiative that in recent years has brought together an ever-widening circle of states, institutions, and industry around the idea that tourism needs to be systematically prepared for crises, rather than reacting only after damage has occurred. This year's events are further internationalized through conference formats in Africa, including a gathering in Nairobi taking place in mid-February 2026 in organizational partnership with Kenyan institutions and the Global Tourism Resilience and Crisis Management Centre (GTRCMC), a center often associated in public announcements specifically with Bartlett and the academic circle of the University of the West Indies.
According to information published in African and international media, policymakers, tourism organizations, and industry are gathering in Nairobi during February 2026 to discuss topics such as crisis preparedness, digital systems in tourism, climate change resilience, and reputation management. In this picture,
Destination Reputational Resilience appears as a substantive contribution to the discussion: an attempt to include reputational risks in the "standard inventory" of tourism strategies, rather than remaining an ad hoc response to individual scandals.
If you are traveling to Kenya for a conference or business meetings, it is practical to look up
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What the publication attempts to offer tourism leaders
According to available descriptions, the publication starts from the idea that tourism has entered an "era of permanent crisis" in which shocks are more frequent and reputational effects spread faster than before. In this logic, leadership in tourism is no longer measured only by the number of overnight stays and marketing reach, but also by the destination's ability to maintain credibility during waves of crisis.
Highlights mentioned include:
- Digital threats and misinformation as a real business risk, not just a communication problem.
- Perception management through rapid fact-checking, consistent messaging, and cooperation with relevant institutions.
- Pre-crisis preparedness through scenarios, training, and defined roles for the public sector, tourism boards, and private companies.
- Post-crisis recovery that depends not only on discounts and campaigns but also on restoring trust through transparency.
In practice, this means that destinations should invest in tools and teams that understand how viral narratives are formed, how algorithms amplify controversial content, and how a reputation can "shatter" even without an objective change in the security situation on the ground. According to available information, the publication is not presented as an academic discussion for the sake of discussion, but as an applicable framework that can be used in governments, tourism boards, and large systems in the industry.
Jamaica as a laboratory of resilience and tourism diplomacy
In recent years, Jamaica has often appeared in international forums with the message that small island economies must build resilience because they are simultaneously exposed to climate risks, global economic cycles, and vulnerability to reputational shocks. Bartlett's role in this narrative is often described as a combination of national policy and international advocacy, especially through initiatives related to the GTRCMC.
In this sense, the presentation of
Destination Reputational Resilience can also be read as a continuation of "tourism diplomacy": an attempt for Jamaica to be recognized not only as a destination with beaches and musical heritage but also as an exporter of ideas on crisis management. In public statements reported by the media, the emphasis is on the fact that resilience directly affects jobs, foreign exchange earnings, and the stability of communities that depend on tourism. Thus, the topic of reputation is elevated above marketing and linked to development policies.
For travelers visiting Jamaica outside the main routes or during periods of increased events, it makes sense to check
accommodation for visitors in Jamaica to make the travel plan more flexible, especially if conferences, festivals, or larger business gatherings are underway.
The bigger picture: reputation as part of the economy's national security
The reputation of a destination in tourism has a specific weight because the "product" cannot be separated from the place. If trust is damaged, the harm spills over to airlines, hotels, small renters, guides, restaurants, and the entire supply chain. This is especially pronounced in countries where tourism makes up a significant share of revenue or employment. In such cases, a reputational crisis can have consequences similar to an export shock: a drop in spending, loss of seasonal jobs, and pressure on public finances.
That is why current discussions on resilience increasingly mention the need for reputational protection to be institutionalized. This includes the question of who is "competent" when a crisis escalates on the internet: the police, the ministry of tourism, the ministry of foreign affairs, the tourism board, or the private sector. According to available descriptions, the idea of reputational resilience tries to clarify exactly that: a destination must have pre-agreed protocols and unique sources of information, because in digital chaos, contradictory messages are punished faster than ever.
Artificial intelligence, algorithms, and new dynamics of crisis communication
In 2026, the digital image of a destination is no longer just the sum of posts by tourists. Automated accounts, bot networks, generated content, and advertising systems that encourage the spread of emotionally charged information are in play. In such conditions, crisis communication becomes technically more demanding: one must understand how trends are created, how incorrect claims are replicated, and how denials often spread slower than the original "news".
In discussions following Bartlett's appearances on resilience, it is emphasized that destinations must develop the ability to quickly detect reputational threats and simultaneously preserve credibility. It is a delicate balance: a reaction that is too fast without verification can produce an additional problem, but a reaction that is too slow can allow a lie or half-truth to take hold as the dominant perception. In this framework, reputational resilience is not just a "PR skill," but a combination of analytics, data management, institutional coordination, and understanding audience behavior.
What remains open and what practice will show
Although the announced reputational resilience framework sounds like a logical response to real problems, part of the questions remain open until the full content is published and applied in practice. For example, it is not always clear how the measurement of reputational damage will be standardized across different destinations or how it will be ensured that protocols do not become a tool for "narrative control" instead of transparent communication. Also, in situations where the reputational problem is a consequence of actual failures on the ground, reputational resilience cannot replace operational reforms, but can only accelerate them through clearer trust management.
In any case, the message heard most from these announcements is that tourism can no longer be defended only with promotional budgets. In a time when reputation is built and destroyed in real time, and a crisis can begin with a single piece of viral content, destinations that develop early warning systems, coordination, and credible communication will have an advantage. Jamaica, through Minister Edmund Bartlett, is trying to turn that advantage into an international standard, and the following months will show whether "reputational resilience" will become as common a term as sustainability or travel safety.
Sources:- Jamaica Observer – announcement of the presentation of the publication "Destination Reputational Resilience" and focus on digital threats to destination reputation (link)- eTurboNews – context of the "digital age" and the framework of reputational resilience in global tourism (link)- MyJoyOnline – report on the opening of the Global Tourism Resilience conference in Nairobi and highlights on cooperation and leadership (link)- Jamaica Tourist Board (JTB) – official announcement on the message "Resilience is the new tourism currency" and announcement of events in Kenya (link)- OpenJaw – report on highlights regarding credibility and trust as the center of tourism resilience (link)- Breaking Travel News – overview of the announcement of the Global Tourism Resilience Day Conference & Expo in Kenya and thematic frameworks of the program (link)
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