Editor: A recent vacation in Bequia has left friends and me truly impressed with the Bequia Tourism Association and the people of Bequia. You are doing a fantastic job in creating an outstanding tourist experience which translates directly into happy and even more importantly, loyal tourists. {{more}}

It is obvious that you have well thought out Customer Experience strategy and tactics in place and it shows in all aspects of the end-to-end tourist experience.

The top 10 areas that stood out brilliantly for me are:

(1) Excellent leveraging of modern technology. Bequiatourism.com is a great website; very attractive, easy to use, very informative and the response time in email from the property owners was extremely impressive.

(2) Impressive Communication for Entertainment/Activities “Bequia This Week” publication provides up to date weekly information and is accessible everywhere, including rooms, stores, restaurants and can even be downloaded from the tourism website.

(3) New Year’s Eve – nuff said;

(4) Industry Teamwork – high quality entertainment each night without establishments competing with each other.

(5) High quality arts and crafts.

(6) Customized and Personalized Tours and Guides – not unusual to find people using the same land/water taxi person for the entire duration because of the one to one relationship that is established very quickly and effectively;.

(7) Friendliness and hospitality of the people second to none.

(8) Outstanding world class food.

(9) Great accommodations with wide variety in tier choices;

(10) Comprehensive exit surveys to capture feedback to improve the experience on a continuous basis.

There were only two areas where I would suggest a bit more focus.

(1) Customer Service – the progress is clearly evident but could benefit from some more training and ongoing coaching;

(2) Cleanliness of the beaches – most beaches were relatively clean but one beach that seemed strategic for tourism looked like it could benefit from regular cleaning and raking; garbage bins along the beaches would also be a big help in keeping beaches clean.

As we commence development of tourism on the mainland, let us not forget to benchmark our neighbours who already have great formulas for success!

Bequia, you can never be explained, only experienced! Keep Bequia special!

Alana Gumbs