A visitor joins the staff of the Ministry of Tourism in a ring play game as they celebrate the heritage and culture of The Bahamas.

Nassau, New Providence - Ministry of Tourism ensured that staff members remain informed of the heritage and cultural opportunities available in Nassau by taking 50 employees on an extensive heritage tour of New Providence.

The employees began the tour at Rawson Square where they received a refresher tutorial on the history of the city and some colorful, historical personalities. The group then made their way to the communities of Fox Hill and Gambier with a stop at Clifton Heritage Park.

Director of Tours at the Ministry of Tourism Craig Mortimer spoke about how the tour ties in with the ministry’s golden jubilee, celebrating 50 years since the ministry was established.

“Tourism employees are the gatekeepers as we are the largest industry of The Bahamas and as such we ought to be in touch with the product. It would be good that every now and then we can get in touch with the product so that we can make suggestions to our leaders on how to improve it,” he said.

“Having a heritage background would be good for anyone working at the Ministry of Tourism and so having those stops for us is a plus and I think it broadens our base as to how to answer questions for tourists who have questions about our heritage in The Bahamas.”

Chairperson of the 50th anniversary committee Ruthann Rolle said the tour ties in with the celebration theme – the year of culture.

“A lot of visitors really want to come and hear about the country, learn about the people and we figure it is a good time to be re-acquainted with our own culture and so from time to time over the year, we are going to be every week exposing our staff to some cultural event whether through music, food but this particular Friday we exposed our heritage,” she said.

Ms. Rolle said there would be several other opportunities this year for employees to receive refreshers and reminders of the country’s product and general information.