Staff at Waves Hotel in Prospect, St. James, was yesterday treated to ???lunch with a twist???.
The event, which was a celebration of the 50th wedding anniversary of repeat visitors Bob and Shirley Robertson of Scotland, saw managers at the hotel serving junior members of staff, including waiters and housekeepers, as well as those employees who work at the front desk, bar, kitchen and in watersports.
The Robertsons, who are on their 40th visit to the island, conceptualised the idea of the ???lunch with a twist??? as a way to say thank you to the staff at the hotel who have served them over the years.
They financed the event and planned it in collaboration with the National Tourism Host Programme of the Barbados Tourism Product Authority. Speaking at the event was Minister of Tourism and International Transport, Richard Sealy. He noted that the event was a ???unique one??? but one which was very welcome and necessary.
???The real strength of our tourism product is our people and those that work on the front line of the sector???they are collectively some of the most important people in this country. They are unsung in most cases but the fact is that tourism is basically our main industry. It is what is pulling us out of this recession and what will continue to see that we enjoy a high quality of life. Events like this are extremely important,??? he maintained.
Mr. Sealy thanked the staff members at Waves for their contribution to the tourism sector, and added that repeat visitors like the Robertsons came to Barbados because of the relationship they had built with persons in the hospitality industry. He further urged all frontline workers to remember that they were performing a serious national duty.
Mr. Robertson thanked the staff at Waves for their ???help and friendship over the years???, adding that they were the best ambassadors for Barbados. The Robertsons first came to Barbados in 1990 on their 25th wedding anniversary.
kim.ramsay-moore@barbados.gov.bb