Pictured in the front pew at the Ministry of Tourism and Aviation’s Service of Thanksgiving held at Christ Church Cathedral on Thursday, November 22, 2018 are: Ellison Tommy Thompson, Deputy Director General; Joy Jibrilu, Director General; Charles Albury, Permanent Secretary; and Dionisio D’Aguliar, Minister of Tourism and Aviation. (BIS Photos/Kemuel Stubbs)
By MATT MAURA
NASSAU, Bahamas (BIS) — The Bahamas is well on its way to developing a reputation as a destination with superb, outstanding, world-class service,” Minister of Tourism and Aviation, the Hon. Dionisio D’Aguilar said.
Addressing The Bahamas’ Ministry of Tourism and Aviation’s Service of Thanksgiving held at Christ Church Cathedral, Thursday, November 22, 2018, Minister D’Aguilar said the delivery of world-class service is to become the key trait, the hallmark, of The Bahamas vacation experience.
Minister D’Aguilar said while the tourism competition in the region and the international marketplace is “stiff and relentless,” Bahamian tourism officials have a well-defined plan to stay ahead of the competition.
“Team Tourism, we cannot slack our ride,” Minister D’Aguilar declared. “The tourism competition in the region and in the international marketplace is stiff and relentless. As a leading tourism destination in our region, we have set a goal for ourselves. And as your Minister of Tourism, I am asking each of you, members of Team Tourism, to commit to this goal. From Bimini in the north and to Inagua in the south, I ask each of my fellow Bahamians who work in the tourism and hospitality industry to commit to this goal.”
Minister D’Aguilar said the training and continuous training of staff in the area of customer service will be key to that plan. He encouraged “management throughout the tourism enterprise” to commit to the continuous training of staff in the area of customer service. He said Bahamahost, the country’s national signature industry training programme, has been recently re-branded.
“Our goal is to see all persons working in our tourism industry become certified Bahamahost Ambassadors.”
Minister D’Aguilar said the Education and Training Department of the Ministry of Tourism offers a suite of training programmes of which management of tourism-related establishments can avail themselves.
“Training and continuous training is the vehicle that will take us to first class service,” Minister D’Aguilar said. “Today is a day we render thanks. We render thanks for our current blessings and for the blessings that the Lord is about to unleash. In bringing blessings into the lives of His people, God has always required their cooperation. He has always asked them to do their part.”
