OECS Council of Tourism Ministers meet in SVG

Standards in the tourism industry here must be lifted if this country is to survive and excel as the industry faces the pressure brought on by the global economic crisis.{{more}}

After just a few months on the job as Chief Executive Office of the newly created Tourism Authority, Yvonne Armour- Shillingford is convinced that this country’s tourism product is unique and presents a real chance at success amidst the gloom and doom.

Armour- Shillingford, however, believes that it will take a serious lifting of standards in all areas of the industry for the potential of the tourism product to be maximized.

“It isn’t only marketing, but ensuring that the product that we market is of value,” she said during an interview with SEARCHLIGHT.

She said that in the Authority’s push towards setting and maintaining standards, they will work closely with all stakeholders in the industry to get all hands on deck in the effort.

She acknowledged that it will take time to get the stakeholders to buy into and abide by these standards, given that it isn’t the way that they had operated hitherto.

Amour-Shillingford was part of the one day meeting of the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) Council of Tourism Ministers and other stakeholders, which took place at the conference room of the National Insurance Service (NIS) on Tuesday, April 21.

Amour-Shillingford told SEARCHLIGHT that she isn’t daunted by the challenge of leading this country’s tourism drive at these trying times because she is confident about the diversity and uniqueness of the product.

“We really have to come up with some creative ways for us to forge forward,” she said. The meeting decided, among other things, to pursue efforts at joint marketing, and Armour Shillingford believes that this is the way to go.