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Hoteliers are being reminded of the importance of continuous training and upgrading of skills of their workers if they are to adequately compete with the rest of the world for tourism dollars.

This message was hammered home on Wednesday at the Barbados Hilton Resort, as six individuals from five hotels across the island were awarded with scholarships to study revenue management and digital marketing.

Chief Executive Officer of the Barbados Hotel and Tourism Association (BHTA) Senator Rudy Grant congratulated the scholarship winners, while disclosing that he was in discussions with the Ministry of Education and representatives of the Hospitality Institute at the PomMarine to see how best they could enhance the programmes there.

“As we seek to compete with the rest of the world, and we accept that the world is now a small global village . . ., we need to ensure that we have all of the relevant skills, the competencies, the knowledge in order to facilitate a phenomenal experience for our visitors when they come to Barbados. That is very critical,” said Grant.

“What will distinguish Barbados is not necessarily the type of marketing we engage in although that is extremely important. It is not necessarily what we have to offer naturally although that is important as well. It is not necessarily the airlift capacity, and that is critical. But what will distinguish Barbados relates to our individuals – Barbadians and their warmth, love, sincerity and the genuine manner in which they deliver service,” he concluded.

Grant did not give details, but said discussions on the enhancement of the programmes at the Hospitality Institute were in the early stages.

“We have to ensure that we are relevant for the times, and we have to ensure that our training institution is fit for the purpose of providing the skills necessary for us to globally become competitive in this very important industry,” he said.

It was back in May last year during an education fundraiser event dubbed Paint and Groove that the idea of offering educational opportunities to workers in the tourism industry came about.

It was then decided that training and development in the areas of revenue management and digital marketing needed to be enhanced.

As such, Expedia, through a partnership with the BHTA and the Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association (CHTA), decided to offer part scholarships for studies at the eCornell University for a number of local hotel workers.

Marketing Manager for Expedia in Barbados Josea Browne said during the Paint and Groove event last year some $10,000 was raised for the grants.

“We got it matched by a corporate sponsor. So then we were able to double the number of scholarships that we were able to offer. We originally wanted to do three, but we were able to do six in the end,” reported Browne.

The six scholarship winners came from a field of 15 applicants. Each scholarship is worth US$1,800, a 50 per cent value of the total cost for the studies.

The scholarship winners are Natalie Franklyn from Dover Beach Hotel, Melissa Defreitas of Ocean Hotels, Kyle Callender of Infinity on the Beach, Tanya Broomes of Royal Glitter Bay Villas, Sheena Goodridge of Cobblers Cove and Krystal Griffith of Infinity on the Beach.

Congratulating the hotel workers on their latest achievement, president of the CHTA Patricia Affonso-Dass said she was delighted at the opportunity to provide educational support with the help of the Expedia Group.

“Also, we have begun wider discussions at the regional level between CHTA and Expedia Group with respect to people development and human resources management. We are excited by that,” said Affonso-Dass.