FREEPORT, Grand Bahama - The Ministry
of Tourism’s Training and Education Department in partnership with the
Grand Bahama Island Tourism Board and the Bahamas Hotel & Tourism Association
is pleased to announce the launch of the first Tourism Service Quality
Training Symposium and Exposition for Grand Bahama Island.
In a spirited effort to forge the
way forward for the development of tourism training programs on the island,
the symposium will explore the trends that are shaping the present and
future of training and education within the tourism sector. The event is
designed to drive destination desire through readying industry stakeholders
to take ownership in communicating a message and attitude of service excellence
to the employees within their organizations.
The timeliness of this Symposium
comes on the heels of what has become a renaissance for the island’s tourism
economy. The year 2014 has experienced significant growth with respect
to airlift, room inventory, tours and attractions. Among this year’s high
markers are; the arrival of Sunwing Airlines direct service out of six
Canadian cities, many for the first time, in January of this year, yielding
21,143 visitor arrivals. Sunwing has returned for a second season with
increased airlift, departing from eight Canadian gateways direct to Grand
Bahama Island. Vacation Express, the US operator of Sunwing will commence
non-stop direct flights from ten (10) U. S. cities as of May 21st,
2015. This reflects an increase of 33.2% over the same time last year.
Additionally, Delta Airlines has increased its direct air service to Grand
Bahama for a second consecutive year, adding daily flights for the winter
and spring seasons to its inventory. Grand Bahama has also experienced
an increase in room inventory, with the opening of the islands newest all-inclusive,
Memories Grand Bahama Beach Resort and Casino in February.
Grand Bahama’s tourism economy
is well positioned to reap the benefits of these product development initiatives.
It is in this vain that the Ministry of Tourism makes a special appeal
to industry stakeholders of all hotels, marinas, restaurants, retail, airlines,
car rental agencies, arts and craft markets, tour operations land and sea,
to register for this important symposium.
Registration for the first annual
tourism training symposium and exposition is $25.00 and closes on Friday,
November 14th.