The Barbados Hotel and Tourism Association (BHTA) convened its 2026 Emergency Management Workshop at The Crane Resort, St Philip, bringing together industry leaders, HR professionals and security managers to sharpen the sector’s readiness for crises of all kinds.
Opening the proceedings, BHTA’s chairman Javon Griffith reminded attendees that preparedness is not optional. “It is a leadership responsibility, a business discipline and one of the clearest tests of how seriously we take our duty of care to our employees, our guests, our properties and the reputation of Barbados itself,” he said.
Griffith stressed that emergency management must move beyond box-ticking. It cannot be “a checklist exercise or a document placed on a shelf until a crisis emerges,” he warned, calling for it to be embedded into organisational culture through sustained planning, training, and review.
The workshop featured four specialist presenters covering distinct but interconnected areas of emergency readiness. Kevin Boyce, group director of security at the Mango Bay Group, led a session on the critical link between employee wellness and emergency response. He argued that the physical, mental, and emotional state of the workforce is “not a secondary concern, it is a primary driver of organisational resilience”.
Boyce cited research that revealed that organisations without wellness integration take 30 to 50 per cent longer to return to full operational capacity following a crisis, while employees who feel unsupported during emergencies are significantly
more likely to resign within 12 months. He called for psychological first aid — endorsed by the World Health Organisation and the Red Cross — to be integrated into preparedness training, noting it can be delivered in just four to eight hours and is suitable for supervisors, HR teams, security staff and union stewards alike.
Philip Brathwaite, health, safety, security, and environmental manager at the Ocean Hotels Group, addressed health and safety committees and the development of emergency plans, including hurricane preparedness. Simon Alleyne of the Department of Emergency Management rounded out the programme with guidance on post-emergency recovery, wellness strategies, counselling and peer support. (DDS)
