The Tribune

Hundreds of persons have graduated from the fall 2019 BahamasHost initiative that is designed to improve service and the guest experience in the tourism industry.

Kirkland Pratt, BahamasHost’s director of industry training, said: “For the fall 2019 cohort, industry training has recorded a total of 659 participants. On a granular scale, that works out this way: 302 public service drivers and 220 corporate participants, including Bridge Authority, Airport Authority, Nassau Flight Services, Comfort Suites, Baha Mar and Warwick. There are also 20 jet ski operators and 52 participants from the Train the Trainer initiative.

“The Family Islands have participants in this ceremony as well. The Governors Harbour office recorded 102 participants; The Berry Islands, 22; Mayaguana, 27; Andros, 21; Exuma, 61; and lastly, Abaco has recorded 65. These individuals could not have reached this milestone, however, without the persistent encouragement from their facilitators who have helped them along the way.”

The BahamaHost graduation ceremony is held twice a year – June and December in Nassau and Grand Bahama, after sessions in the Family Islands have been completed. Following completion of the programme, graduates are awarded a personal certificate of achievement and a name badge to designate the recipient as a certified ‘BahamaHost’.

This training programme is designed to familiarise participants with The Bahamas’ history, culture and geography. It is also a customer-based programme that places emphasis on service excellence.

Corrie Bethel, graduate, said the programme was “life changing”. She added: “I wasn’t aware that the history of our country was so in-depth. While there were some things I knew, the courses really brought light to a lot I didn’t know. What I appreciated most, however, was the attention our facilitators placed on good customer service in the tourism industry and why it is critical to our number one industry.”

Keynote speaker Simone Bowe, the Ministry of Tourism and Aviation’s director of human resources, said: “Tourism is a team enterprise. We need all hands to build the economy of our beloved nation and to create a Bahamas where all of our citizens can make an equitable living.”

CAPTIONS

BahamaHost students cheer as members of their cohort receive their certifications

The Ministry of Tourism and Aviation’s director of human resources, Simone Bowe, gives the keynote speech at the Fall 2019 BahamaHost graduation.

A BahamaHost graduate receiving her BahamaHost certificate from the Ministry of Tourism and Aviation