The cornerstone to develop toerism
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28 Juni 2007, 17:10 (GMT -04:00)
Bron: Amigoe.com
TOURISM IS vital to fuel our socio-economic development.
A community that invests in tourism is going to see a
good return on investment to help alleviate poverty; and
for this I believe that empowerment of our people has to
be the cornerstone to prevent us to become a nation of
only waiters and chambermaids. Our people should
furthermore become professionals, leaders and owners in
their national development. Therefore we must see that
the industry provides the products and services demanded
by visitors while at the same time guiding its
development so that also the natives pick the fruits to
enjoy a better quality of life. The travel dollars and
euros should seep deep into our local economy,
increasing industry, creating high quality jobs and help
us become master of our own destiny.
Many Caribbean islands depend for their tourism industry
on the sand, sea and sun. With the creation of more
tourism destinations through the Caribbean, Curaçao must
diversify its industry by penetrating into niche
markets. And I believe Cultural Tourism should become an
increasingly important part of our tourism strategy.
Historic area of Willemstad inner city is one of Unesco
world heritage sites in the Caribbean and should be one
of our main tourism attractions. This heritage puts on
each and every one of us a huge responsibility, that of
conserving, and of restoring and refurbishing of this
patrimony. With our vast wealth of land houses all over
the island, our folklore, mixture of different cultures
that fuses us to a contemporary ‘Yu di Kòrsou’ and our
culinary kitchen, we got a fantastic window of
opportunity for this tourism sector. Let's make sure
that together we push that window wide open. There's
much to enjoy and experience for the overseas visitor.
For our tourism industry to grow the need for a stable
and safe social environment must become our main
preoccupation. That environment must be one that allows
our people from all walks of life to feel a part of that
development and to get the opportunity for full
expression of their potential both in service and
ownership of the industry. The demands of our community
are diverse. It therefore means that at any time leaders
will be required to respond to a variety of needs. These
can range from training opportunities for our people to
be able to access the job opportunities which will
become available, to access to financial means for local
entrepreneurs wishing to start there own business in the
tourism sector. Government, through our financial
institutions must be the facilitator in all these
situations using its resources as well as those of the
private sector to address these needs. Soon we will be
inundated by investors from all parts of the world, more
immigrant labor from the most unexpected places and
projects that will change the face of Curaçao. To quote
an old adage ‘we cannot be expected to eat our cake and
have it too’, we must be sure to derive sound
nourishment from the feast. Our sacrifices for
development must be to derive a better outcome for all
our people; not only jobs, but real empowerment.
The issue of skills is a burning issue; tourism
businesses may look very simple on the face of things,
but in reality are very complex. The tourism sector is
very sensitive and must be approached with caution.
Those who enter the industry must be prepared to provide
top quality service because tourists look at very small
things to determine if their needs and wants are met.
The initiative for providing skills through local
hospitality and tourism schools and vocational training
is imperative. Financing and guiding natives to start
their own business in the tourisms industry can play a
key role in empowering citizens in this competitive and
sensitive sector. A country that is developing from an
industrial and trade economy like Curaçao should sustain
and encourage its citizens to become more
tourist/service minded.
In closing, let me say this: for tourism to flourish,
investments in big hotels are not enough. The best way
to ensure that tourism benefit our economy is for each
of us to become ambassadors of our island; to promote
Curaçao as a safe, stable unique and welcoming
destination; to reach out to visitors, thank them for
choosing our island to visit, help them with directions,
or point them in the direction of a favorite shop or
restaurant. For while it may be our wonderful cultural
mix and architectural treasures that bring them here the
first time, it’s the people of Curaçao that will bring
them a second, third, or fourth time.
ROBERTO J. JANGA
Curaçao
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