May 6, 2001 – Lord, have mercy!
That's one appeal in the Tourism Department's outreach in observance of National Tourism Week, May 6-12.
As the kickoff to the territory's weeklong program of activities, Tourism Commissioner Pamela Richards asked the religious community "to dedicate a service and offer special prayers for economic prosperity and protection of our industry and its workers" Sunday.
"Every congregation is made up of tourism industry employees and management persons," Richards added in a release.
Centering on the theme "Tourism: Our Culture Recognized, OurHeritage Realized," the remainder of the week's activities have a secular focus:
Monday — On St. Croix, three students from each participating class in fourth through sixth grades at Ricardo Richards, Pearl B. Larsen, Claude O. Markoe, Alexander Hendersen, Juanita Gardine, Lew Muckle and Evelyn M. Williams elementary schools will get a tourist's-eye view of their island. Transported by Sweeney Safari Tours, they'll take a guided tour including stops at Government House, the Scale House and Fort Christiansvaern in Christiansted, plus the St. George Village Botanical Garden.
In the St. Thomas-St. John district, whole classes of students will be making field trips to such tourist attractions as Mountain Top, the Paradise Point tramway and Coral World.
Tuesday — On St. Croix, junior high students are invited to take a guided salt pond nature hike.
On St. Thomas, for "Hospitality Employee Day," participating high school seniors will spend the day at a tourism-related, service-oriented business getting a first-hand look at how it operates.
Wednesday — St. Croix Vocational School students have been invited by some 36 hospitality industry-related businesses to spend the day in a mini-internship. "Last year, we did front-liners," Yolanda Bryan, a Tourism staffer, said, referring to jobs that involve initial person-to-person contact with visitors. "This year, we're covering the whole gamut including boat repair, carpentry, plumbing, cosmetology, agriculture, automotive, food service, plus the front-line jobs." Each host has agreed to take one or two students, who'll spend normal school hours, 8 a.m. to 3 p.m., at the workplace. Lisa Beck, the tourism teacher at the Vocational School, is coordinating the program, and Bryan said in the past the experience has led to some students being hired as actual employees.
In the St. Thomas-St. John district, the Tourism Department will host an open house at its offices. Visitors — residents included — are invited to stop by and view promotional materials, seek out information and hear some live local music.
Also Wednesday, Tourism personnel throughout the territory in both the public and private sectors have been asked to wear red "in recognition of the nation's 18 million tourism-industry employees." According to Richards, the tourism industry provides one of every eight working people in the nation with jobs.
Thursday — No special activities are scheduled on St. Croix. On St. Thomas, hospitality professionals and other community leaders will visit schools to talk about tourism and how it benefits the territory.
On Thursday and again on Friday and the following Monday and Tuesday, the Hospitality Focus Group of the St. Thomas-St. John hotel association is presenting a one-day customer-service training course at Marriott Frenchman's Reef Beach Resort. This "Excellence Together" program is open to any employee or self-employed person working in a service area. There is no charge for participation. For details, see the St. Thomas Source story "Customer Service Proving to Be a Draw."
Friday — On St. Croix, the public is invited between 9 a.m. and noon to tour any of these visitor-oriented enterprises: the Frederiksted Hotel, Carringtons Inn in Questa Verde, Soul of Africa and King's Alley in Christiansted, the Sugar Beach Condominiums and Sunterra Carambola Beach Resort. "It's an open invitation," Tourism staff member Heather Carty said, and people can drop by any time during the morning.
Also on Friday, Laverne Frederick of St. Croix Heritage Tours will lead a one and a half-hour historic walking tour of downtown Christiansted. It will depart at 9:30 a.m. from in front of the Scale House and include forays into Government House, Market Square and the Christiansted National Historic Site. The tour is free but it's limited to 25 people. To reserve space, call Frederick at 778-6997.
For the St. Thomas-St. John district, the St. Thomas-St. John Hotel and Tourism Association is sponsoring "Career Hero Day," recognizing individuals who have made outstanding contributions to the territory's tourism industry.
Saturday — On St. Croix, there'll be a Tourism Week Bazaar in Buddhoe Emancipation Park. No activities are scheduled for the St. Thomas-St. John district.
The St. Croix Hotel and Tourism Association's offices are closed all week while staff attend a conference in Atlanta.
This is the 18th year that Tourism Week is being observed nationally. Also, May is designated as Tourism Month. This year's national theme is "Tourism Works for America." In the territory, Richards said, that concept is being combined with the local focus on culture and heritage.
Richards said the week is intended to promote "a wider understanding of travel and tourism as an industry that is vital to the economic stability and growth of the nation and one that contributes substantially to its cultural and social well-being." The various activities represent a private/public partnership, she said, thanking "all participating businesses and residents for their commitment to increase the awareness of what tourism means to our community and its many benefits."
She also said there is a widespread misconception "that hospitality and tourism industry employment consists solely of low-skill/low-paying jobs with little opportunity for growth or advancement." Tourism Week, she said, is a time for the public to come to see that "our diverse and dynamic industry provides challenging and satisfying career opportunities for people with a variety of talents and interests."
