Twenty people working in the tourism industry were recognized during a night of glitz and glamour at the second annual Grenada Hotel and Tourism Association (GHTA) Gala Awards Dinner & Dance. Complete with new categories including ‘Rookie of the Year, the Lawrence Lambert Award (Large Hotel Employee of the Year) and the Ian Dabreo Award (Small Hotel Employee of the Year), the night recognized the contributions of people in different areas of the tourism industry.
The event, which was held at Radisson Grenada on Saturday May 4, was attended by Minister for Tourism and Civil aviation Hon. Clarice Modeste-Curwen, President of the GHTA Jerry Rappaport with the GHTA Board of Directors, Dr. Angus Friday, CEO of the Grenada Tourism Authority (GTA) Patricia Maher and members of the GHTA.
Mr. Rappaport congratulated the winners and focused on the important role workers in the industry play. He said, “It’s not often that we have an opportunity as an industry to get together and celebrate our success and, most importantly, acknowledge our employees who are key to the success and continued growth of tourism here in Grenada. We know from visitors comments on Trip Advisor etc. how special our people are and how big a part they are of a tourist’s experience in Grenada. It’s very important that once a year we take a moment to pay tribute to all of them and especially those that have excelled at their jobs.”
The theme of the night was ‘Building a better future with a career in tourism’. Speaking on this topic, GTA CEO Maher said, “Last year, we achieved a historic milestone, welcoming over 500,000 visitors to the destination. But so much more can be achieved. Tourism can no longer be seen as just a career; but ‘THE” career. This industry must attract the best and brightest, if we are to increase the benefits coming from it.”
Delivering the featured address of the night was Caribbean Tourism Organization’s Director of Marketing for the UK & Europe, Carol Hay. During her presentation, she chronicled her journey into discovering her roots in Jamaica, then taking a chance at working within the tourism industry there, which she has never regretted. She remarked, “We need to ensure that we run tourism as a business . We need to save something to continue investing in our infrastructure, people and their development. We need to ensure that the people who work in tourism are equipped.”
Addressing the gathering, Tourism Minister Modeste-Curwen congratulated the night’s winners and said, “The people of Grenada, Carriacou and Petite Martinique are what sets the destination apart from our Caribbean neighbours. Thank you for continuing to make your contributions and putting Pure Grenada, the Spice of the Caribbean on the map.”
The superb entertainment for the evening was provided by Formation Dance Group, Zoie Olliviere, Matthias Williams, Sheereen Brizan and Solid the Band. At the end of the night, the True Blue Bay Resort and Calabash Luxury Boutique Hotel were the big winners with the properties walking away with six awards apiece. See the full awards listing in the attached document.
