PM Appeals For Professionalism In Tourism Industry
Basseterre, St. Kitts – Nevis
February 11, 2009 (CUOPM)
An appeal from Prime Minister Hon. Dr. Denzil L. Douglas to all stakeholders in the tourism industry to protect the image of the twin-island Federation and display professionalism in the services they provide to visitors and nationals.
“If there is bad behavior on the part of the taxi and tour operators, I would hope that the dispatchers who are there from the Ministry of Tourism, the police security officers and the port security, that they are in fact engaged in ensuring that any bad behaviour is brought to an end,” said Prime Minister Douglas in response to a concern raised by a telephone caller to his weekly radio programme “Ask the Prime Minister,” on Tuesday.
Dr. Douglas, who is also the Minister of Tourism, noted there has been an ongoing discussion with the taxi operators and tour operators with regard to how the visitor should be welcomed when they disembark from the cruise vessels at Port Zante or the Deep Water Port.
He accepted an invitation to visit Port Zante during a cruise ship day “and see how operations are taking place.”
“All our stakeholders, those who are engaged in providing services at Port Zante, whether they are providing services in terms of organized tours or just simply providing taxi services to take visitors around the island or to go to different places; I ask that we do so in a most professional and careful way, making sure that we understand that the image of the country must come first and any bad behaviour or any negative difficulties that those be ironed out and not become a display in the wider public for our visitors to see that kind of behavior,” said Prime Minister Douglas.
St. Kitts and Nevis continues to be a preferred cruise destination and is expected to welcome over 400,000 cruise passengers during the 2009/2010 Cruise Ship Season.
