Prime Minister of the Bahamas urges for pioneering ways to improve tourism product

Published on : Saturday, October 6, 2018

Barbados and other Caribbean tourist destinations are being challenged to transform the region into a global centre for tourism excellence that propels innovation in the industry.

 
The Prime Minister of the Bahamas Dr. Hubert Minnis has urged regional officials to explore “ground-breaking” ways to improve the tourism product. He stressed the fact that Caribbean tourism would continue to be the leading engine for economic growth and development.

 
To quote Minnis, “We must broaden our Caribbean brand in tourism. Our region must be known for extraordinary visitor experiences and services. We must also be known as a global centre of excellence for all aspects of tourism development. In so many ways the potential of our region is untapped.”

 
He made the call on Tuesday night during the official opening ceremony of the State of the Industry Conference (SOTIC) 2018 at the Atlantis hotel resort.

 
“Tourism continues to evolve at a pace that requires us to constantly innovate in order to maintain market share and to meet the expectations of our visitors. We must keep pace with such innovation. But we must also be the drivers of global innovation,” added Minnis.

 
Minnis highlighted the employment opportunities within the industry, and pointed out that travel and tourism is one of the largest and fastest growing sectors of the global economy. He questioned the fact that why the region is still falling behind in spite of having a rich heritage and culture that could be better marketed.

 
Insisting that the Caribbean needs to be more than a place to visit, Minnis said that Caribbean leaders have a two-fold mission to develop the region into a place for the rest of the world to “relish and delight in”.

 
“We must ensure that we deliver the very best range of exceptional personal services to our own visitors. We must also become far more focused on providing global tourism services. In the short run, this might require our attracting to our region subsidiaries or units of some of the existing global travel companies,” Minnis explained.

Tags: bahamas, prime minister