From being briefed on the national flag carrier, Bahamasair, to the importance of sports tourism, and the experiences of actually working in a hotel, the high and primary school students left with new knowledge about the number one industry, and its importance to The Bahamas.
Senior vice president of Human Resources at Atlantis, Karen Carey, told the students that tourism is the world’s largest and fastest growing industry. She said that means there is more pressure on The Bahamas having to compete globally.
“We have got to be ready and we have got to have skilled persons, build careers and be innovative so that we can compete globally to retain our share of the market,” Mrs. Carey said.
She told students in any career field they were interested in, it was open to them in the tourism industry. Mrs. Carey stressed that they did not have to stay in the traditional job areas, as there were opportunities available in the legal field, medicine, engineering and the like…… making a lot of money.
“We have got lawyers, we have got physicians, and we have got medical people working in the field that are earning more in the tourism business than they would in their ordinary traditional jobs,” Mrs. Carey said.
She hoped that the staging of this careers fair opened up a new world for them and the Ministry of Tourism will become even more aggressive in the public awareness campaign to let students know about the opportunities available in the tourism industry.
“It has to begin with educating students, and not just them, but counselors and teachers and helping them to understand that it (tourism) is a very lucrative career to be into,” Mrs. Carey said.
Public and private school students from grades six to 12 attended the careers fair.
The foyer of the Nassau Marriott Resort was buzzing with activity, as students swarmed the Bahamasair, Breezes, John Bull, Kerzner International and Immigration booths, to get a peek into the exciting world of tourism and related fields.
The banking and financial, health and eco-tourism industry were also well represented.
Bahamas Hotel Catering and Allied Workers Union organiser ,Tyrone Butler, told the students that this is an exciting time in the tourism industry.
He said over the years, the industry has grown and evolved into a “success story” for such a small island nation.
Mr. Butler said the trick now is for The Bahamas to branch out into new markets and make it more appealing to those wanting to visit the Bahama Islands.
“What we need to do now is make our product even more attractive and we need to expand it to other travel markets. We have a variety of components in the industry we can build on like bonefishing, eco-tourism, religious tourism. We need not lock ourselves into the person that is just seeking sun, sand and sea. There are so many other areas that we can expand on and I am hoping that we as a people take advantage of it,” he said.
Mr. Butler also noted that there is a need for further development of the other island economies.
“There is a need to push for the development of those island economies to get tourists not just to see New Providence or Grand Bahama, but all of the islands, so that we can really capture our share of the market,” he said.
Turning to the point of the unions, Mr. Butler said oftentimes people say trade unions make noise for the wrong reasons, but the BHCAWU, he said encourages people to be positive and take advantage of the industry.
Keva Lightbourne, The Nassau Guardian
