The public are being encouraged to play their part in helping to develop the economy and participate fully in this year’s Tourism Awareness Month activities, organized by The Ministry of Tourism & Culture and Discover Dominica Authority (DDA).
Tourism Awareness Month is a month of activities designed to build awareness about tourism and its impact.
“The message we want to get out there for Tourism Awareness Month is that all of us have our part to play in developing the industry,” Permanent Secretary (PS) in the Ministry of Tourism and Culture Careen Prevost said during an interview with Dominica News Online (DNO) recently. “Government is playing its part, but we will definitely need the support of the general public.”
She continued, “In Dominica our theme ‘Tourism is Everybody’s Business’; everyone needs to play their part.”
According to Prevost, during the month, the ministry undertakes a number of activities that will generate interest and a deeper understanding of the work that is being done.
“We know that tourism has a significant impact on the economy, provides employment and helps to support other sectors such as agriculture, commerce and a few other areas,” she stated.
Prevost explained that as part of the month, the Ministry of Tourism and the DDA will engage in activities that will bring awareness to some specific actions.
The first activity on the programme for the event was a tree planting ceremony held at Morne Bruce last week.
“What we are encouraging the public to do is to plant trees, beautify their area in order to help to enhance the environment and develop the tourism product,” Prevost stated.
Another activity that has been planned is a beach cleanup in partnership with the Forestry and Wildlife Division.
Prevost went on to say that over the last few months, the Ministry hase been partnering with some of NGO’s including Rotary, 4-H Club and a few other organizations to do monthly beach cleanups
“We noticed that quite a lot of our waste is actually getting down to our beach fronts and we just want to ensure that the product we provide, not just for visitors but for ourselves is clean, free from litter, so we are making a concerted effort to clean up our beach fronts,” she explained.
Prevost added, “We are going to do the normal activities: radio programmes, talk show programmes, and television. We will also be conducting a road show which we do every year, visiting various tourism stakeholders including hotels, visiting some sites and just meeting with the community to listen to them and let them understand what we are trying to do in tourism.”
It does no good to collect all the trash and plastics and recyclables if you have no place to put it. Dominica needs a mandatory re-cycle programme and heavy fines for people who litter and do not control their garbage.
I think Dominicans on a whole do not understand tourism. I dont think the higher up do either. They does have all kinds of consultants telling them do xy&z, but we are like old dogs stuck in our old tricks. A small few get it, but the vast majority who are at positions to make small or big changes dont. Tired of this place and how we present ourselves. Dominica is a gem. You cannot sell or market precious stones cheaply. You cut it to precision and polish it up till it shines brightly, then you display it under proper lighting in suitable displays, thus making it even more desirable. You dont sell it for cheap, non the less if it has not been processed and cut and polished, you should not over price it, as it still requires plenty work. Here we think we are amazing, but we arent as yet. As a national, i am not satisfied with how my country looks and operates. and as such, i believe many factors are hampering our tourism product. granted we get a few. but imagine if we got polished up.
To add, Roseau desperately needs some trees and foliage. With all the human and motor traffic the city is way too hot at times, especially as we are right on the coast. We need to figure out how to best utilize available space to develop comfortable attractive green areas not just for guests to enjoy but out locals. Some will say “oh just go in the gardens” but being in the gardens takes you away from everything else in Roseau. As a tourist, id like to sit in a lovely little green area with tables and chairs, enjoying a local drink, with the option of patronizing any business that is a few steps away from me. As the nature island, i believe we can have more nature in Roseau. From hanging plants to potted plants to vacant lots being transformed into lush green rest and food areas.
Planting a tree will not enhance tourism,all the millions that you all are spending to remain in power could go to rehabilitating the tourist attractions,and the enhancement of the dirty city.
Jamie, Have you ever heard of Mohan Munasinghe’s sustainable development triangle? What it does is show how the 3 key elements of sustainable development (Environmental, Social and Economic) should be synchronously targeted or rather I should say they must all work together towards implementing sustainable development policies. My dear, Planting trees is one of the ways which we can see the harmonization of an economic-environmental agenda.