Basseterre, St. Kitts, November 05, 2018 (SKNIS): The Ministry of Tourism and the St. Kitts Tourism Authority remain committed to providing a consistently outstanding visitor experience through the “sustainable development of the Federation’s human, natural and cultural resources, in order to maximize opportunity, prosperity and quality of life for present and future generations,” said Minister of Tourism, the Honourable Lindsay Grant.  
 
“We are continuing to conduct customer service training for all of our nationals who work on the front lines of the industry, including both traditional and non–traditional service providers such as aloe rub vendors; destination management companies; servers; bartenders; primate petting craft vendors; and hair braiders,” he said.  “This is our fourth year of annual training, with sessions held in June and July attracting a total of 120 participants. Topics covered key themes such as destination awareness; serving the discerning guest; caring for your primate; understanding tourism; intermediate customer service; time management; and conflict identification and management.”
 
Minister Grant added that in January 2018, thirty-nine new individuals were trained to become Certified Taxi Operators. An additional 194 participants attended the Certified Taxi Operators Refresher Training conducted by the Ministry of Tourism in July 2018. Topics covered included: destination knowledge, fire services and customer service.
 
The Ministry of Tourism has continued its Tourism Education programmes in schools geared at teaching the principles of the tourism business to the youth.  Having begun with three pilot schools, the programme has now expanded to include over 360 students in six schools – four primary schools, one secondary school and one technical and vocational school. In addition, the ministry added etiquette training to the programme with the sponsorship of stakeholders including: Sprat Net Bar and Grill, Tyrell Williams Primary School, Jamrock Restaurant and Bar, as well as the Ocean Terrace Inn (OTI).