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Promoting security and sustainability in the tourism sector

Puebla, Mexico -

On 20 - 24 August, Puebla has hosted the 6th workshop on tourism security in Mexico. The meeting is part of the Tourism security programme 2016-2019 in Central America and the Caribbean funded by the Government of Canada and implemented by the United Nations Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute (UNICRI) and the Inter-American Committee against Terrorism of the Organization of the American States (OEA – CICTE), in cooperation with the partner countries.

UNICRI and the OEA-CICTE aim to develop a comprehensive capacity-building methodology on tourism security that is based on specialized training sessions targeting specific groups of actors. In particular, the programme on tourism security aims at improving security strategies and operating procedures and enhancing capacities to plan and manage security and protect tourist destinations through the adoption of new models (such as the one developed by UNICRI), the establishment of new synergies and the sharing of international good practices. One key aspect of the programme is the engagement of local communities and the promotion of sustainable tourism.

The programme contributes to strengthen the professional and technical expertise of public and private security officials, with a specific focus on building public-private partnerships to protect tourism. 15 workshops have now been held in cooperation with the Ministries of Tourism of the 14 countries involved in the project.

The workshop in Puebla has been organized in cooperation with the Mexican Secretary of Tourism (SECTUR) and has seen the participation of 60 representatives from the 13 Magic Towns of Tamaulipas, Michoacán, Puebla, Q. Roo, Coahuila, Baja California Sur, Guanajuato, Tlaxcala and México State. The meeting had a special focus on terrorism trends, travel alerts, public-private partnerships and risk analysis. Relevant presentations were delivered by the experts of Chile, Ecuador, SECTUR, OEA – CICTE, the US Department of State, the United Nations Department of Safety and Security (UNDSS) and UNICRI.

The next workshops will take place in Saint Lucia (17-20 September), in the Dominican Republic (26-28 September) and in Jamaica (22-26 October).

For more information, please contact: Mr. Duccio Mazarese. Email: duccio.mazarese@un.org