BASSETERRE, ST. KITTS – Anticipating growth in the tourism sector for the 2014-2015 season, the St. Kitts Tourism Authority, conducted a Customer Service Training seminar for certified Primate Petting and Aloe Rub vendors.
In following through with its commitment to raise standards in the tourism industry, seminar was designed to equip the vendors with the technical skill and knowledge needed to provide visitors with excellent customer service.
Chief Executive Officer of the St. Kitts Tourism Authority, Racquel Brown said more than 30 vendors attended the four-day mandatory seminar.
“As we continue to develop as a premier Caribbean destination, we will ensure our visitors have the best experience while in St. Kitts. This not only speaks to our five star developments such as Kittitian Hill and Park Hyatt Developments, but also to our front-line tourism service providers through ongoing training, so that they are able to provide outstanding services, to give our visitors the best possible experience while in St. Kitts,” Brown said.
The seminar was facilitated by Mary Helen Reece, who is the chairperson of the Anti-Harassment Task Force for Tourism in Jamaica. Mrs. Reece’s objective was to assist the vendors to become more professional in the delivery of their service.
Topics covered included professional attire, marketing, basic communication skills, personal hygiene, business ethics, basic finance, approaching the visitor, animal care and managing the environment.
During the seminar vendors were able to actively work together to rebrand their services and identify their new uniform and tag line: P.E.T. M.E. “Primate Experience Team, Memories Everlasting.”
The Aloe Rub Vendors worked on revamping their uniforms, identifying a pricing structure and were able to create an agreement to govern their operations moving forward.
In 2009, Mary Helen was instrumental in the development of the Product Standards Department in the St. Kitts Tourism Authority.
Since then she has provided consultancy services for the Authority and facilitated training with taxi and tour operators. She is as previous Executive Director of the Tourism Product Development Company.
