Minister of Public Telecommunications and Tourism Catherine Hughes yesterday handed over to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, a series of retractable banners, which would be used to promote Guyana at embassies and consulates worldwide.
At the ceremony yesterday morning at her Colgrain House office, Hughes spoke of the role foreign missions have in promoting Guyana’s tourism product and emphasized how important it is that these representatives be well equipped to present this information to the rest of the world.
“…It represents the beginning of a process that will bring fruition to our conviction that Guyana’s foreign missions, wherever they are in the world… have a huge role to play in selling Guyana…Their work and effectiveness would be incomplete without tangible materials to support their message…,” the minister said.
The posters, which are available in four variations, were received by Head of Diaspora in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, An Yin Choo.
Following that presentation of resource materials, was the handing over of pins and certificates to the individuals who benefited from a three-month hospitality training course at The Crane Hotel in Barbados.
The seven recipients of the training were Marcia Hohenkirk and Jesonia Hermonstine of
Herdmanston Lodge; Marcelle Thomas, Valena Grenion and Theola Fortune of the Carnegie School of Home Economics; Sonia Khan of the Roraima Group of Companies and Zenobia Fortune of the Mangrove Restoration Project.
Honorary Consul of Barbados to Guyana Gerry Gouveia expressed his satisfaction with the results of the training, noting that he has seen quite an improvement in his staff member, which he attributed to the training the team received in Barbados.
One of the trainees, Thomas, offering a comment on her experience, said that what she most benefited from was customer relations’ training. “I think we’re still to gather or inculcate that mindset regarding the importance of providing that wow experience for customers,” she stated.
Hohenkirk, when asked what was the one thing that stood out for her during training, also spoke of the need to offer good customer service.
According to Gouveia, a similar presentation is to be held in Barbados to acknowledge Barbadian students who received training at the Guyana School of Agriculture. This collaborative effort was aided by the recent signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the two countries.
“So at the same time we had Guyanese students and Guyanese professionals in the hotel industry in Barbados, the Barbados students were in the Guyana School of Agriculture, benefiting from the strengths of Guyana. So this MoU is basically a good cross-fertilisation with the talents of Barbados and the talents of Guyana to make the region better,” he said.
