Nominations Open for Tourism Service Excellence Awards

The Ministry of Tourism is inviting stakeholders to submit nominations for the National Tourism Service Excellence Awards, which seek to recognise individuals and organisations in the sector that demonstrate best practices and offer excellent customer service.

Nominations for the awards will close on Friday, December 22, 2017 at 4:00 p.m. and are open to individuals and organisations serving the tourism sector across the island.

Speaking in an interview with JIS News, Executive Director at the Tourism Product Development Company (TPDCo), Dr. Andrew Spencer, explained that the award is a component of the TourismService Excellence Awards Programme (TSEAP), which is implemented by TPDCo and financed by the Tourism Enhancement Fund (TEF).

He pointed out that the programme is intended to select, showcase and award the best in service excellence, in order to establish internal benchmarks for the categories of businesses in the tourism industry.

“It (the programme) is geared towards unearthing and showcasing the best of our Jamaican people, as the best part of our product is the warmth of the people and the service, and so, the visitor experience is what will give us repeat business,” Dr. Spencer pointed out.

“We boast a 42 per cent repeat business in tourism, and we want that to only go higher, because that is where we are able to secure a sustained market… . So we just want to recognise the people who are doing well, and this will encourage those who look on to strive to be the next winner, and that is intended to bring our service level in the industry to an all new high,” the Executive Director added.

Under the programme, nominations will be accepted in the following categories: Accommodation Staff, Craft Trader, Airport Staff, Tour Operator, Ground Transportation Operator, Raft Captain, Attraction Employee, and Watersport Employee.

Nominations are also being accepted from the following fields: Accommodation (properties including hotels, villas, apartments and guest houses); Attractions and Places of Interest (business entities); Ground Transportation (business entities); Tour Operator (business entities); and Watersports Operator (business entities).

Completed nominations must be submitted as an attachment to serviceexcellencetpdco@gmail.com, or in a sealed envelope and delivered to any TPDCo office islandwide (Kingston, Ocho Rios, Mandeville, Montego Bay, Negril).

Further details about the awards and guidelines regarding nomination may be accessed on the Ministry’s website at www.mot.gov.jm or TPDCo’s at www.tpdco.org.

On March 3, 2018, the winners for both the individual and organisation categories will be announced and awarded at the Montego Bay Convention Centre in St. James.