Edmund Bartlett to be honoured as global tourism icon in Africa

KINGSTON, Jamaica — Jamaica’s Minister of Tourism, Edmund Bartlett, will be honoured as a tourism icon at the PYNE Awards Africa 2026, recognising his global leadership in building tourism resilience and advancing stronger partnerships between Africa, the Caribbean and the wider Global South. Bartlett will receive the prestigious honour during the awards scheduled for September 24–26, 2026, in Maputo, Mozambique. The awards celebrate leaders across Africa, the Caribbean and the Diaspora who are driving innovation, youth empowerment, economic transformation and resilience.

According to a Jamaica Tourist Board (JTB) press release on Thursday, the recognition places the country's tourism leadership firmly on the global stage and acknowledges Minister Bartlett’s pioneering role in transforming tourism resilience from a destination-level priority into a global development agenda. It noted that among his landmark contributions is the establishment of the Global Tourism Resilience and Crisis Management Centre in Jamaica, which has emerged as an international platform for helping tourism destinations anticipate, prepare for and recover from disruptions, including climate change, pandemics, geopolitical shocks and other global crises. Bartlett also championed the charge for the designation of February 17 as Global Tourism Resilience Day by the United Nations, helping to elevate resilience as a central pillar of the international tourism conversation, the release said.

“This recognition from Africa, in the beautiful nation of Mozambique, is deeply significant,” the minister said. “It affirms that resilience is a shared language between the Caribbean and Africa. From Maputo to Montego Bay, we face many of the same climate threats, economic vulnerabilities and development challenges, and we must build solutions together.” The PYNE Awards Africa recognition also underscores the growing relevance of Jamaica’s tourism resilience model to emerging destinations across Africa and the Global South.

As countries seek to strengthen tourism competitiveness, unlock investment and create greater opportunities for communities and young people, resilience is increasingly being viewed as fundamental to sustainable tourism development. The JTB said Bartlett’s work has championed a tourism model that places people, communities, youth, innovation and small states at the centre of touris…