Dominica has now been placed in a position where it can take advantage of the rapidly increasing destination wedding industry.
Tourism stakeholders and wedding service providers on the island were introduced to the new processes and development plans for the niche market at a Wedding and Honeymoon stakeholder briefing on Wednesday morning.
Director of Tourism, Collin Piper, said with the recent amendment made to the Marriage Act, which allows couples who do not reside in Dominica to obtain a marriage license within a 24-hour period, the island will now be able to capitalise on this niche market.
Additionally, the overall application process for getting married has been made simpler; relevant forms and information are being made available on the Discover Dominica Authority’s and the Government of Dominica’s website. The marriage license application form requires only the signature of Magistrate, Commissioner of Oath, Justice of the Peace or Notary Public in the couple’s hometown.
Piper noted that all these amendments will allow for greater flexibility, convenience and expediency of service in acquiring a marriage license and making the process of getting married in Dominica easier.
Meanwhile, Minister of Social Services, Community Development and Gender Affairs, Gloria Shillingford noted that Dominica is finally ready to take advantage of the destination wedding industry.
“Dominica can be marketed as a premier wedding and honeymoon destination for tourist from the Caribbean, North America and Europe. We have the same sea, eco-features and exotic scenery that these tourist are seeking to make their weddings romantic and memorable,” she said.
Shillingford said the onus is on stakeholder to offer quality service that is unparalled so that thier clients will go out and market Dominica internationally. “Remember that there is competition for the type of package which we offer, thus it is the quality and timeliness of service which will distinguish Dominica as the number one destination,” she said.
She also urged stakeholders to target not only the foriegn market, but also the local one.
It’s an idea with potential, but first the process must be simplified so that average people are not turned away because of time consuming nonsense and government employees flexing their power muscles – WHICH IS A REALITY THROUGHOUT THE CARIBBEAN! Dealing with the public requires a personality of caring about people and their needs. Harsh, uncaring people should not be in positions that deal with foreigners unless they can be NICE (known as being SOFT to the average Dominican). If someone isn’t being helpful, they should be fired immediately or risk the loss of a thriving industry. This is a huge problem throughout the Caribbean and one that is rarely addressed.
The place will surely boom with all those tourists coming in and couples having their weddings. All the tourism board has to do is advertise and maintain their wonderful natural resources. Making the place more attractive will always get people’s attention.
Please make sure the staff give good customer service, something lacking in some parts of the Caribbean, including Dominica. Training is a must to compete with the world leaders. Go Dominica! About time too……
Customer Service is comfused with Servitude throughout the Caribbean. As a result, Customer Service is angry, rude and sprinkled with hateful looks. I don’t know the answer to changing this reality. You’d have to overhaul the entire culture and that’s not going to happen.
How can Dominica be a place for a destination wedding when nobody can get there?
Very good point. Unless you’re on a boat, it’s almost impossible to get to Dominica. Liat only lands here about 1/2 of the time. No dependable alternatives and the cost is outrageous.
We want people with energy, not laid back people.
We need to have people with good advertisement skills. They also need to have some good training in customer service.
Some government places you go, they are cold, dry and abrupt. Any business you go, the front desk people has to bring people in not to turn them off. We need good shake up in the public services.
Our taxes are paying their salaries, and we are not getting good service in return.
Language skill is also vitally important. If a person has a limited vocabulary and even more limited understanding . it will not work. Having been in the Wedding Business in the Caribbean, I know how important it is to be able to communicate effectively and clearly.
Wedding Industry. It is like a factory. I suppose whosoever will may come to procure a marriage license for a few hundred dollrs and they will be welcomed.
Gloria Shillingford is the …Gender Affairs… Note this! Gender means anyone. Am I to conclude that this DA government will immediately give credence to the so-called same sex marriage?
This time, I am wondering what is the DA opposition saying about that?
You are seeking a boost for the tourist industry. However, keep in mind that you are Christians and I hope practicing and prayerful ones. Do not do as Judas Iscariot, the traitor who deceived Our Lord Jesus Christ and sold his soul to the devil for a few pieces of silver then later was remorseful and hanged himself. I bet his lot forever is not in Heaven.
Some years ago I attended a Catholic Retreat. While meditating during Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, the thought ran across my mind: “The only person in Heaven who is crying is Jesus.” I knew this did not come from me but from His Holy Spirit or Himself.
Our Lord is crying for our sins especially the atrocious ones, those who reject him and neglect him and those who pursue the almighty dollar for capitalism and materialism. Governments are very prone to this and sadly so. Our Lord will one day judge us according to our works – in thoughts, words and actions.
Is this really necessary … jamming Jesus down people’s throats? Come on!
All I am hearing is RAAAAAAAA,RRRRRRRR,RAAAAAAA,where is the substance,where is the plan? Am I the only one feeling that way?
yes
No you are not! A highly experienced wedding consultant from the US held a series of meetings about five years ago at Fort Young, all usual stakeholders attended. The consultant was an Executive on one of the biggest Wedding publications in the US. After the presentation, there were one-on-one meetings so all stakeholders, regardless of size could discuss their specific queries and questions. Detailed reports and reccommendations were submitted by the expert to the Tourism Ministry as a result, outlining how to take things further and put Dominica on the Wedding destination ‘map’. Whats’ happened to all of that information all these years later. Wedding destinations are not a new concept and we are a beautiful caribbean island, its a no-brainer – what has happened to all this previous information. Why are we continuously re-inventing the wheel?!
Tell me about it! They speak about competing with island like St. Lucia, St.Kitts, Barbados, Jamaica and even developed countries like Mexico who has developed their wedding industry ages ago, yet still we do have the right mechanism to do. Destination weddings is nothing new, its just new to DDA, Tourism and Social Services Ministry.
The stakeholders are willing to invest, however it makes no point investing in an industry with opportunities on in theory. First an foremost the process needs to be streamlined. Some work has been done but a lot more needs to be done. The form has been amended however the Minister of Social Services remain the sole person who can sign. What happens in her absence? Tuesdays and Thursdays are cabinet and constituency days,respectively. What happens if she’s on lunch. If a cruise ship docks in Portsmouth, how possible is it to have a wedding done on the same day. What if she’s on lunch,what if she’s sick????? Secondly, as of now only registrars can perform weddings outside the church. To my knowledge there are only 2 Registrars. How can two registrars perform more than 2 weddings in any given day, plus handle their daily duties? smh Tsk tsk tsk! I wanted to get married at the Cabrits National Park and was told that only registrars can perform weddings at Natural Sites..Utter rubbish. Take a page from the other islands, something is def working for them and I think its as simple as changing the process as oppose to a form.
Im not interested in the wedding business but the sector definitely has potential. The move to get into the niche is def a good one however from a common sense view, I think they need to go back to the drawing board. Then again if they did not listen to the consultant whom I sure they paid a hefty sum, who are we. But let’s hope for change in the name of economic development.