ACS Facilitates Tourism Safety and Security Knowledge Exchange
Tourism and security officers from fourteen ACS members have sharpened their skills to improve tourism experiences in their countries. At the 1st ACS Workshop on Promotion of Safety and Security in the Tourism Industry, police, tourism-development officers, destination-marketers and engineers were among the people who benefitted from presentations on regional security concerns and planning, community safety and partnership with police.
Presentations from the Dominican Republic’s Specialised Tourism Security Unit (CESTUR), CARICOM IMPACS (Implementation Agency for Crime and Security) and the Trinidad and Tobago Police Academy were the sparks for discussion among the participants, at the ACS and via videoconference around the region.
In the discussion, the ACS was encouraged to facilitate internships among its members to continue providing the space for regional police and tourism professionals to learn from each other’s experiences, specifically as it relates to tourists and tourist-related problems and security issues.
The Association of Caribbean States is the organization for consultation, cooperation and concerted action in trade, transport, sustainable tourism and natural disasters in the Greater Caribbean. Its Member States are Antigua & Barbuda, The Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominica, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Grenada, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Mexico, Jamaica, Nicaragua, Panama, St. Kitts & Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent & the Grenadines, Suriname, Trinidad & Tobago and Venezuela. Its Associate Members are Aruba, Curacao, (France on behalf of French Guiana, Saint Barthelemy and Saint Martin ), Guadeloupe, Martinique, Sint Maarten, (The Netherlands on behalf of Bonaire, Saba, and Sint Eustatius ), Turks and Caicos.