The Tribune

NOMINATIONS for the 17th Cacique Awards to be held in April 2017 are now open.

The awards, which celebrate the brightest and the best in the country’s hospitality industry, will be held at the Baha Mar Convention Centre on April 8 under the theme, “The Business of Tourism.”

There are 18 local categories and five international categories that will be honoured.

They include Employee of the Year (Front of the House); Employee of the Year (Heart of the House); Chef of the Year; Sales Executive of the Year; Supervisor of the Year; Manager of the Year; Hotelier; Transportation; Local Airlines and Tour Operators; Sports and Leisure; Special Events; Creative Arts; Handicraft; Sustainable Tourism Award; the Clement T Maynard Lifetime Achievement Award and the Minister’s Award.

This year, officials have added the Willfred “Willie Love” Knowles Tourism Ambassador Award.

Chairman of the Cacique Awards, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Tourism Harrison Thompson, said the awards are meant to award the trailblazers in the tourism sector.

“Excellence is The Bahamas’ number one brand. When we talk about excellence all around the world we speak about The Bahamas. That’s why we say ‘It’s Better in The Bahamas and the best is yet to come,’” he said.

“I would like to encourage their nominations as soon as possible. In submitting your nominations, you can nominate how many persons you feel are deserving of recognition and you can nominate for more than one category.”

Vice President of the Bahamas Hotel and Tourism Association (BHTA) Suzanne Pattusch said the Cacique Awards is about recognising “breathtaking” service.

“We are here to recognise the people and it is the people that make our tourism industry. This year we extended our listing to recognise the wide range of persons in the industry. So we hope that these categories will touch as many people that have impacted tourism,” she said.

“We know that everyone matters in tourism. I’d like to thank employers who have taken the time to nominate who they think should be awarded. There is always a winner. But the fact that you are nominated means that you are recognised for putting forth that level of excellence that we admire.”

The director, writer and choreographer of the Cacique Awards is Ian Poitier.

He said the entertainment for these awards will be like no other.

“This is not just a piece of entertainment. This is an essential part of what we do and doing it in this way means that people are more drawn to it. When people come to our country, they are not aware of some of the challenges that we face. They want to engage to that side of our culture that are meaningful to them and that they can take back home and this is a part of that,” Mr Poitier said.

Nominations can be done online at www.caciqueawards.com or forms can be collected at any Ministry of Tourism office in the Family Islands or abroad.

Nominees must be Bahamian. Persons may be nominated for more than one category.

However, the nomination forms outline specifically what the requirements are for each category.

The deadline for nominees is January 20.

The nominees will be presented at a later date.

For more information, contact the Ministry of Tourism at 302-2000.