Tourism Authority names Employee of the Year for 2014

Aina Browne is the 2014 Employee of the Year at the St Vincent and the Grenadines Tourism Authority (SVGTA).

This announcement was made at a ceremony on Thursday, January 15, 2015, at the Sunset Shores Hotel, where 35 hotels received their licences for tourism approved accommodation.{{more}}

Browne, who is a Quality Assurance officer at the Authority, joined the staff in April 2011, having previously worked as a teacher at the Georgetown Secondary School. The Chester Cottage resident holds a BSc in Hotel Management (First Class Honours) from the University of the West Indies, having completed internships at Sandals Grande St Lucia Spa and Beach Resort in 2010 and the SVG Tourism Authority in 2009.

She is an unassuming, but hard-working individual, who is dedicated to her duties which require her to inspect, classify and grade tourism and hospitality ancillary offerings and update information sources on the quality of the product offerings. Browne is a thorough and thoughtful individual, who is always willing to go the extra mile, particularly for the stakeholders and general public with whom she interacts; she is a model employee who exemplifies true professionalism and consistency in the quality of her work. Aina was instrumental in ensuring that the implementation of standards was realized and her commitment to the process is lauded and appreciated by the board, executive and staff of the Authority.

The SVGTA Act #39 of 2007 mandates the Authority to develop standards that serve as the minimum requirements for the provision of products and services in the tourism industry, provide a development mechanism for the industry and strengthen the economic and human resource competitiveness of the local industry in a global context. In 2009, the Authority commenced work on developing five (5) tourism service standards, namely the Tourist Accommodation Standard, Code of Practice for Tour Guides, Code of Practice for Tour Operators, Code of Practice for Short-Term Vehicle Rentals and Code of Practice for Taxi Operators. These were developed with the guidance and support of the SVG Bureau of Standards and more importantly, with the involvement of the respective service providers.