Assamba
Devon Evans, Freelance Writer
OCHO RIOS, St. Ann
MINISTER OF Tourism and Industry, Aloun N'Dombet Assamba, wants the safety and hygiene needs of the tourist industry to be fully reflected in the training of personnel for the industry, not only in Jamaica but the entire Caribbean.
She said if Jamaica and the rest of the countries in the region were able to maintain all the standard practices of food safety and hygiene, it would enable the region to attain the distinction of being a first rate destination.
LESS ILLNESSES
Mrs. Assamba noted that although a recent study, conducted by European tour operators, showed that visitors to the region have been reporting less illnesses, the figures still remain high in comparison to those of Florida, which now stand at 9.5 per cent. She, however, did not give a figure for the region.
She said it is important that each destination, not only in the Caribbean but throughout the world, ensure that their safety measures are as foolproof as possible.
The Tourism Minister was the main speaker at the opening ceremony of the First International Food Safety Conference, at the Renaissance Jamaica Grande Resort in Ocho Rios yesterday.
The two-day conference was organised by the Food Hygiene Bureau of Jamaica, in association with the United Kingdom based Chartered Institute of Environmental Health, under the theme: Exploring 21st Century Solution in Food Safety.
POWERFUL MARKET SOURCES
The Minister said the attention to safety and hygiene in any country was of paramount interest to the needs of any consumer. She pointed out that already, in Jamaica there were systems in place to ensure that within the tourist industry, health, safety and security standards were properly maintained through the efforts of the Tourism Product Development Company (TPDCo).
"We are well aware, as a government, that we need to recognise that there are powerful market sources at work, to which we need to respond if we want to maintain and retain a prosperous tourism sector. So our policies and programmes are being directed with all those in mind."
She went on to list some of the things that need to be put in place to ensure that all the standards are met.
These include:
(1) Sensitisation - to ensure that proprietors in the industry understand the importance of searching for top class performance;
(2) The Caribbean and other regions have to collaborate efforts to build a reputation in safety deliveries to achieve a competitive edge; (3) There must be a common set of objectives to focus on;
A FIRST RATE DESTINATION
(4) Long term partnerships must be built with tour operators who influence a lot of the decisions of the consumers, especially those from the European market; and
(5) We also should learn to anticipate and resolve problems before they happen and to ensure that they are co-ordinated response plans.
At the national level, the Tourism Minister suggested that: Jamaica needs to ensure that there is a plan safety and hygiene; close attention must be paid to food hygiene and adoption of the HACCP method; and more focus should be on record-keeping by suppliers to ensure accountability.
"If we are able to maintain all these practices, then we are well on our way to a first rate destination," the Minister assured.
