The sixth Tourism Human Resource Conference, organised by the Caribbean Tourism Organisation (CTO) in association with the University of the West Indies department of management studies (UWI) and the Barbados Community College (BCC) hospitality institute, got underway this morning at the University of the West Indies Cave Hill Campus.
The event, which will focus on Enhancing Caribbean Tourism Human Resource Through Partnerships and Innovation.which will run from today until Friday will see representatives from the 32 CTO-member states engaging in discussions regarding the region’s tourism product with a focus on the human resource aspect.
Among other things, delegates will look at innovative ways of addressing key issues relating to the island’s number one foreign exchange earning sector.
During the opening ceremony, Minister of Tourism Richard Sealy reminded those present that the workers in the industry are the most valuable element.
“The Caribbean region is the most dependent on tourism in the world and that is a fact on the basis of contribution to GDP of the different countries that make up the Caribbean. Livelihoods of millions of people therefore depend upon a successful and thriving tourism product. And as we seek to continually take steps to improve the region’s tourism product offering, we must always remember that the human resource is the most valuable component of the region’s tourism product offering,” he said, stating there was too much of “a distance” between the tourism industry and educational institutions.
Also present for the opening ceremony was general secretary of the CTO, Hugh Riley, principal of the UWI Sir Hilary Beckles and principal of the BCC Gladstone Best.
The conference is also being attended by a number of students from tertiary institutions across the region. (MM)
