BHTA President Heralds Teachers As Pivotal To Tourism

The Bahamas Hotel and Tourism Industry (BHTA) held its 21st Annual Educators’ Internship Program recently, where once again a cadre of teachers spent three days “walking in the footsteps” of tourism professionals, working in businesses directly related or reliant on our tourism industry.

The highly popular program, hosted by the BHTA, in partnership with The Bahamas Ministry of Education, Science & Technology (BMOEST), gives teachers firsthand experience and insight into our economy’s number one industry functioning on a day-to-day basis. Educators spend time interfacing with guests, customers, owners, and operators of businesses, gleaning not only an understanding of what it takes to run the business, an apt “work ethic”, the skillset and intrinsic attributes necessary to thrive in the business of tourism. The experience is then taken into the classroom, through the educators and guidance counsellors, who can convey what they learned “beyond the classroom” directly and exponentially, to their students.

The theme of this years internship was “Pride in Our Past”, Pamela Burnside, Vice President of Allied Members for The BHTA, proprietor of Doongalik Studios Art Gallery, and well known Bahamian culturist, kicked off the program with a poignant presentation, challenging the teachers to remember and cherish unique elements of Bahamian History, Culture, Customs, and which our younger generation needs to treasure as a inextricable part of Bahamas’ authentic identity.

The closing ceremony, befittingly held at John Watling’s Distillery, situated in Historic Nassau, included public and private sector partners, including senior leaders from the BHTA, high ranking representatives from BMOEST, long standing partners from The Bahamas Ministry of Tourism (BMOT), The University of The Bahamas’s College of Tourism, Hospitality, Culinary Arts and Leisure Management (THeCALM), The Bahamas Training and Vocational Institute (BTVI) teachers, Educators and Counselors from over twenty Bahamian primary and high schools, and Host Properties, who “educated the educators” throughout the week.

President of the BHTA, Jackson Weech spoke passionately about the value of Educators as they prepare the next generation of Bahamians to one day take over the Bahamian Tourism industry, as owners, operators, entrepreneurs, stakeholders of the plethora of businesses entrenched in the Tourism Economy. Weech thanked the teachers and reminded them that they play a pivotal role as they are the ones who are tasked with preparing students to succeed in the vibrant, ever evolving, fast paced tourism ecosystem.

Ricardo P. Deveaux, Deputy Permanent Secretary of BMOEST and President & CEO of The Bahamas Primary School Student of The Year Foundation, regaled the audience with his real-life experience, where educators throughout the course of his studies, influenced the trajectory of his journey. Deveaux reminded educators of the integral role they play in shaping the lives of their students and encouraged them to never forget the power they have to make a positive difference in the lives of the students they come across during the course of their careers.

Host properties who opened their doors, minds and hearts to the educators, some of whom had been attending the program annually for over two decades included, Ardastra Gardens, Atlantis Paradise Island, Baha Mar Resort, British Colonial Hotel, Goldwynn Resort and Residences, Graphite Engineering, Graycliff Hotel & Cigar Company, Leisure Travel & Tours Co. Ltd., Lyford Cay Club, Majestic Tours, Margaritaville Beach Resort, Nassau Cruise Port and Warwick Paradise Island.

Caption:
Shown above: Bahamas Hotel & Tourism Association (BHTA) senior executives, representatives from Bahamas Ministry of Education, Science & Technology (BMOEST), Bahamas Ministry of Tourism, (BMOT), University of The Bahamas, College of Tourism, Hospitality, Culinary Arts and Leisure Management (THeCALM), The Bahamas Training and Vocational Institute (BTVI) Teachers, and Counselors, Host Properties representatives. (Photo credit: Kenderick Major)