The Tribune

By NATARIO McKENZIE

Tribune Business Reporter

nmckenzie@tribunemedia.net

The Bahamas must improve its customer services and ‘value for money’ standards if the tourism industry is to remain competitive, an Atlantis executive said yesterday. 

Ed Fields, Atlantis’ senior vice-president of public affairs and retail services, said the Bahamas’ “standards cup” needs to “runneth over”.

The host of Ed Fields Live on KissFM 96.1 said that over the past several years, as shown on the travel site TripAdvisor, the Bahamas has fallen behind in overall performance by between 10 to 15 points compared to destinations such as Jamaica, Mexico, and the Dominican Republic, with Cuba also emerging as an increasing competitor.

Mr Fields said the two major indicators are customer service and value for money while addressing a CV Bethel Senior High School teacher orientation yesterday.

He called on the teachers to recommit themselves to doing whatever they needed to to prepare their students for the global job market, despite challenges such as poor facilities, lack of equipment, overly aggressive parents and absent parents.

Mr Fields said that in addition to focusing on reading, writing and mathematics, there was also a need to help build character and instill the value of a job.

  “If our primary industry is to be sustained and to grow, these basic qualities must be the foundation that all persons in the workforce must have.  All professions and occupations touch our industry. If we are to recapture our position in a growing and highly competitive tourism industry, our standards cup needs to ‘runneth over’, said Mr Fields.

    “Our engagement and service must negate any sting that our product pricing may give our customers. For now it is the only thing in our control. If we don’t, we can be assured of a continued decline in both our level of business and our standard of living.”