{"id":281818,"date":"2022-03-07T11:51:59","date_gmt":"2022-03-07T15:51:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dominicanewsonline.com\/news\/?p=281818"},"modified":"2022-03-07T11:51:59","modified_gmt":"2022-03-07T15:51:59","slug":"agreement-between-carpha-and-crosq-signed-to-develop-caribbean-wide-health-safety-and-environmental-sanitation-hospitality-standards","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dominicanewsonline.com\/news\/homepage\/agreement-between-carpha-and-crosq-signed-to-develop-caribbean-wide-health-safety-and-environmental-sanitation-hospitality-standards\/","title":{"rendered":"Agreement between CARPHA and CROSQ signed to develop Caribbean-wide health, safety and environmental sanitation hospitality standards"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"
CARPHA-CROSQ Signing Letter of Agreement 2022<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A new partnership between the Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA) and the CARICOM Regional Organisation for Standards and Quality (CROSQ) will seek to develop and implement Caribbean-wide health, safety and environmental sanitation (HSE) hospitality operational standards.<\/p>\n

The Letter of Agreement was signed on Thursday 3rd<\/sup>\u00a0March 2022 by Dr. Joy St. John, CARPHA Executive Director, and Mr. Deryck Omar, CROSQ Chief Executive Officer, at CROSQ\u2019s headquarters in Barbados.<\/p>\n

The health, safety and regional security of the Caribbean\u2019s economies are closely related to the health of its tourism industry given that the Caribbean sub-region is the most tourism-dependent region of the world.\u00a0The\u00a0tourism\u00a0sector has\u00a0historically been one of the industries hardest hit by pandemics and crises, and is\u00a0vulnerable to health, safety, and environmental sanitation (HSE) threats, challenging the sustainability of Caribbean tourism.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe adverse impact of HSE issues faced by the Caribbean tourism industry can largely be prevented through industry-wide adoption and implementation of standards-based, quality improvement approaches\u201d, adding that \u201ctraining in enhanced food and environmental safety, hospitality-based health monitoring and response systems, policy and public\/private health and tourism partnerships is needed,\u201d stated Dr. St. John.<\/p>\n

There are no currently established regional travel and tourism\u00a0quality assurance\u00a0measures that are based on regional standards for food safety and sanitation, or best practices in sewage treatment, energy management, waste management, pest management and water treatment.<\/p>\n

CARPHA, through its Regional Tourism and Health Program (THP) is working with CROSQ to develop and implement a core set of\u00a0seven Caribbean wide-HSE quality standards for the tourism industry. The development and implementation of these standards would protect the Region\u2019s fragile environment and lead to a safer and better-quality environmental product and standards-based destination, increasing the comparative advantage of Caribbean Tourism. These Standards were recently approved by the CARICOM Council for Trade and Economic Development Ministers at their November 2021 meeting.<\/p>\n

\u201cCROSQ has long promoted the value of quality services in our region. With the advent of the pandemic, standards and quality measures have become even more critical to our survival and resilience, especially for sectors like tourism and health. These seven standards, developed through regional consensus, have been diligently worked on with CARPHA\u2019s THP, over the past two years. This agreement today, will allow us to do even more to recognize and implement quality into these sectors, which for many of our countries is key to future trade and economic growth,\u201d said CROSQ CEO, Mr. Omar.<\/p>\n

CARPHA and the CROSQ are both committed to a travel and tourism product that is safe, secure, and provides a quality and authentic experience to travelers to the Region.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Background information<\/strong><\/p>\n

CARPHA, through its Regional Tourism and Health Program (THP) is working with CROSQ to develop and implement the set of Caribbean-wide Health, Safety and Environmental, Sanitation, and Hospitality Standards and\u00a0Quality Assurance and Recognition Framework to improve health, safety and environmental quality in the hospitality sector. The following seven quality standards have been developed and recently finalised, accompanying quality assurance and recognition programmes\u00a0to come in due course:<\/p>\n

\n