Stronger linkages between agriculture and tourism among key imperatives

A small consortium of local hotels is now exploring new strategic opportunities to build back better the local industry, which is grappling for recovery given heightened travel restrictions from its major source markets.

While the government and the sector on a whole have implemented some recovery initiatives, these have not had much impact given the ever changing nature of the travel market since the pandemic. This has raised heightened concerns among industry players and sector interests who have formed the consortium seeking a sustainable path to COVID-19 recovery.

The consortium comprises most of the leading hotel chains in the island – namely Sandals, Hilton Rose Hall, Iberostar, Royalton Resorts, Melia Braco, Island Outpost, Half Moon Resort and other brands spread across the island’s north coast. They held talks about finding a sustainable path to COVID-19 recovery during the just-concluded 2021 Food Waste Conference, held at the Half Moon Resort in Rose Hall, Montego Bay.

The conference was organised by CaribShare, a Jamaican non-profit championing organic recycling in the island’s tourism sector and The Center for Responsible Travel (CREST) based out of Washington DC in the United States. The virtual and in-person event covered issues of food waste recycling, opportunities for reduced hotel reliance on food imports and the need for more robust local sourcing and farm-to-table strategies moving forward.

Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries Floyd Green, who spoke at the conference, pointed to the need for stronger linkages between the agriculture and tourism sectors. As such, he advised that the Holness administration is now taking steps to have more direct supply chain links between the farmers and hotels.

Food waste within the hotel sector high on the agenda

A main agenda item on the conference was the issue of food waste within the tourism sector. With several participating hotels operating at 10%-30% occupancy, conversations around sustainable food waste management came at a time when hotel operators are eager to create greater local economic and environmentally sustainable impacts as well as linkages with the island’s agriculture and fisheries sectors.

Green argued that this conference occurred at an opportune time where food security is now more than ever a top priority that is being approached as a collaborative effort. He stressed that, “we have to tackle the issue of food waste together and so our hotels should explore establishing food banks with their excess food for our most vulnerable, as well as composting”.

For its part, the United Nations Development Program in Jamaica praised the push for collaboration in the interest of food security on its social media.

Pete Pearson, senior director, food loss and waste at World Wildlife Fund, made the point that COVID-19 has had a huge impact on hotels, tourism and food systems globally.

“Recovery will require businesses to be even more efficient. By taking steps to measure and prevent food waste, businesses can save money, reroute food to communities in need, and work to see that unavoidable food waste doesn’t go to landfill where it creates methane emissions,” Pearson stated.

He added: “The food waste programme at Montego Bay showcases how the hotel industry can reshape the future of sustainable and waste-free food service, while still offering guests a luxury experience.”

The 2021 Food Waste Conference was sponsored by the United States Embassy in Kingston, World Wildlife Fund US and the Half Moon Resort.

The agenda showcased international as well as local presenters including representatives from World Wildlife Fund US, Tourism Cares, CREST, Bucuti & Tara Beach Resort Aruba, Hilton Aruba and Winnow Solutions.

Damaging effect of new travel bans

Tourism Minister Edmund Bartlett, who also addressed the conference, spoke about the damaging effect on the local industry as a result of the new COVID-19 travel bans.

According to Bartlett, “the new COVID-19 travel bans imposed by major tourism source markets, Canada and the United Kingdom are expected to have a damaging effect on Jamaica’s winter and possibly summer tourist season recovery prospects.”

Kerry Chambers, senior director of policy at the Ministry of Tourism, spoke about the ministry’s drive towards developing a sustainable tourism market for Jamaica.

Chambers, who was a guest panelist at the live student mentorship session, which took place as part of the conference pointed to the inclusion of education at all levels in this thrust for sustainable development on this vital sector of the Jamaican economy.