New Chairman of the Barbados Hotel and Tourism Association (BHTA), Geoffrey Roach.
The BHTA team has been heavily involved with the Tourism Task Force set up by the Government of Barbados, to help prepare Barbados for its recovery of tourism.
New Chairman of the Barbados Hotel and Tourism Association (BHTA), Geoffrey Roach acknowledged the above, as he delivered remarks at the BHTA’s Annual General Meeting, held over the Zoom online platform yesterday.
“I believe in our people and for that reason want to focus on one aspect of the work being undertaken by the Task Force and that is the Human Resource Development (aspect). The objective here has been to address the needs of our people and to provide development opportunities for them” Roach remarked.
Pointing to the series of webinars that the Tourism Task Force has set in motion to re-tool and re-train workers in the tourism sector, so they can in turn better assist the tourism sector in bouncing back from the present COVID-19 pandemic, Roach however noted that while there has been a satisfactory response to the sessions, the BHTA would like to see a further uptake, so that everyone can make the most of these opportunities and assist in the tourism recovery efforts.
Roach, who takes over the reins from outgoing BHTA Chairman Stephen Austin whose tenure came to an end this week, suggested that whilst there is a lot of work to be done by the Association in helping to move the tourism sector forward beyond COVID-19, the BHTA is up to the challenge, since it has faced numerous pressures before and has come out of these situations shining.
“By now, I do not have to tell any of you the impact that COVID-19 has had on the global tourism industry, on Barbados’s tourism industry, on our people and each of us personally. The experts have said that persons over 65 are more vulnerable to COVID. If the BHTA was a person, we would be in that category, and while we have felt the effects of COVID-19, we will show COVID that this 68 year old organisation has no core morbidities and will not be defeated. Barbados will not be
defeated. Our people will not be defeated” he asserted.
“Does this mean that we will be unscathed? Highly unlikely, but we will wear our scars as a reminder of the battle that we faced and overcame. There is a quote that says “Grow through what you go through” and this is what we will do. Further, I am sure that many, if not all of you have heard the statements made about diamonds, but however it is said, the story is the same, diamonds are created under pressure” he maintained.
Roach stressed, “I am optimistic about our future, despite the current challenges that we are facing and I know that as long as we join hands and work collaboratively no matter what role we play or what organisation we represent, the Diamond that is Barbados will shine bright”. (RS