As tourism rebounds from the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, Dominica is making its next strategic move by focusing on developing a strong culture of service excellence. In collaboration with the Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO), Discover Dominica Authority (DDA) hosted a “Your Journey to Excellence” training series from September 19 to October 1, 2022. The training series targeted 100 Nature Island Standards of Excellence (NISE) certified tour guides, taxi service providers, craft and souvenir vendors and other tourism frontline personnel.
CTO, the industry’s leading body for Caribbean tourism development, has designed an intense and instructive training series geared toward the pursuit of excellence in the tourism and hospitality sector. “Your Journey to Excellence” program was a three-day workshop designed to further strengthen the knowledge and competence in Dominica’s tourism professionals and promote a culture of excellence in the operations they own, lead, or manage. The program explored and developed the importance of tourism to Dominica at the macro and micro levels, the transition professionals must make from operating in silos to understanding the one team dynamic, how every service provider can create and add value in small no-cost and low-cost ways to WOW visitors, and how to implement basic continuous improvement schemes that benefit our visitors and fellow tourism stakeholders.
Norris Clement, CTO’s training consultant, facilitated the sessions. Mr. Clement is a highly motivated and experienced trainer and educator with 26 years of progressive experience in the public and private sectors. He also serves as a Business Advisor in CTO’s Hospitality Assured Caribbean program to promote a culture of service and business excellence, as well as a CTO certified facilitator for the Management of Service Quality (MSQ) training program.
According to CTO’S Director of Resource Mobilization and Development, Sharon Banfield Bovell, creating a culture of service excellence prepares a destination for growth and outstanding performance. The ability to provide that experience can encourage guests to keep returning, which in turn, attracts new customers and creates a favorable reputation.
In today’s world of business and especially so in this global, ever-changing service industry called tourism and hospitality, the pursuit of excellence is a necessity for survival, growth, competitiveness, and overall success. Why? Customers demand it! Mediocrity is no longer accepted nor tolerated. Visitors to the Caribbean, in their own quest for value for money and safe and exciting experiences, have growing expectations of businesses and their staff. The equation is simple: provide excellent customer engagement in a constant and consistent manner, and this will equate to loyal customers, which in turn will result in increased profits for businesses. Making excellence a habit should therefore be our mantra in Caribbean tourism.
Sharon Banfield Bovell, CTO’S Director of Resource Mobilization and Development
DDA will continue its commitment to the development of the tourism human resource as excellent customer service impacts positively on guests’ experiences, especially in this new environment.
