MONTEGO BAY, St James — Pointing to the wide range of careers within the tourism sector, the training opportunities, and how it has transformed the lives of employees, executive chairman of Sandals and Beaches Resorts Adam Stewart and Minister of Tourism Edmund Bartlett on Monday sought to dispel the perception that tourism only provides low-paying jobs to casual workers.

“We are very proud of the opportunities being created within tourism. At times when comments are being made about the industry, sometimes there is a lack of understanding of how deep the tourism industry goes and how many people have created incredible careers,” Stewart told the
Jamaica Observer shortly after participating in a panel discussion titled Integrated Tourism Development, on the first day of Caribbean Hotel and Tourist Association’s Travel Marketplace being held at Montego Bay Convention Centre.

Stewart cited jobs in areas such as project management, finance, accounting, banqueting, information technology, as well as newer ones related to artificial intelligence which are coming on stream.

Jobs in tourism were initially seen as largely being confined to waiters and housekeepers, but that has not been the case for many years. However, public perception has not kept pace with changes in the sector.

On Monday, Stewart pointed to the way tourism benefits the overall economy, a point often made by industry players.

“Tourism is many things. I talk about it as the total ecosystem of tourism. Whether it is restaurants, whether it is entertainment, whether it’s excursions, whether it’s transfers and the taxi division, the farmers and the fishers, tourism supports every single facet of industry at large,” he told the Observer.

During the panel discussion Bartlett sought to dispel the notion that all tourism jobs are low-paying. He also pointed out that his ministry has put training programmes in place that will provide workers with the qualifications needed to command higher salaries.

“The purpose of enabling is to change the labour market arrangements in tourism. They are regarded as low-wages industry with itinerants, not one who has a sense of commitment to a professional path, because they don’t see it as existing in tourism. But that’s the tourism of the past — and we in the Caribbean know that,” he stated.

“We are no longer a tourism of seasonality — six months off and six months on. We are now 24/7 so we have to create and train people to serve, and to do well, and to add value every step of the way 24/7,” he added.

The minister spoke of the importance that is being placed on training and certification, which will then make it possible to classify staff.

“If you classify the worker then you can remunerate according to classification. That is our formula in increasing the capacity of the tourism worker to give more and to do more,” Bartlett added.

Stewart cited instances when high school graduates from an inner-city community in Montego Bay were given opportunities to climb the employment ladder within the Sandals chain, after in-house training.

“I could [point to] dozens and dozens of people who started right here in the Flanker community who came fresh out of school into what Sandals calls the HTP — the hospitality training programme — who today are senior leaders in managing 40, 50, 60, 80 people. So I think that when some people talk about tourism and do not understand how tourism truly works, those of us in tourism are really proud of what tourism has done for Jamaica and the Caribbean,” he said.

Bartlett, who hailed Sandals for establishing Sandals Corporate University which provides tertiary training for workers in the company, also noted that the tourism ministry’s Jamaica Centre for Tourism Innovation has certified 15,000 workers in five years.

“We have collaborated with the American Hotel and Lodging Education Institute, the American Culinary Federation, and a number of universities around, to enable that level of certification,” he said.

“Tourism is about people and it is the people who are the driving force, they are the energy of tourism, therefore the number one concern of tourism must be the workers of the tourism industry. It’s not the responsibility of the public sector or private sector alone; it’s a joint responsibility and we all must share in enabling the best labour environment to prevail. It will inure to higher productivity, great performances and, most importantly, the excellence of service which is the experience that the visitor comes to a destination for,” the minister reasoned.

Other panellists included Kenneth Bryson, minister of tourism and ports in Cayman Islands; and John Bryan Collier of the World Bank.

Caribbean Hotel and Tourist Association President Nicola Madden-Greig moderated.