Last month Antigua and Barbuda’s Prime Minister Baldwin Spencer announced the government’s new target for tourism, by proposing a Tourism Transformation Taskforce.This Taskforce will consist of stakeholders in the industry who, in partnership, will identify strategies to support the Ministry of Tourism in developing a business model. This business model will incorporate an array of perspectives, backgrounds, experiences and talents from throughout Antigua and Barbuda’s tourism industry.

Prime Minister Spencer said, “We have to create a New Tourism if Antigua and Barbuda is to become the Best Brand in Caribbean Tourism.”

He added: “In this context, we see human development as central to the creation of a New Tourism in Antigua and Barbuda. This means that training must be as important as marketing. Training has to be a core strategy in the New Tourism. The government is considering options for providing incentives to hoteliers who invest in training. Tourism training must involve the entire population.”

Other objectives of the Tourism Transformation Taskforce are to provide the Ministry of Tourism with strategic guidance in identifying issues and problems within the industry and to recommend options for redefining and repositioning the tourism product.
——-