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Minister of Tourism, Richard Sealy (right) accepts a token of appreciation from Courtyard by Marriott Bridgetown General Manager, Kelly-Anne Meyers; Area Vice President for Marriott International, Andrew Houghton (second from right) and Area Director of Finance, Kevin Tanzola. (N. Hutchinson/BGIS)??

Representatives from various tourism organisations joined in celebrating the Courtyard by Marriott Bridgetown’s first anniversary last night.

A token of appreciation was presented to Minister of Tourism, Richard Sealy, during the evening’s proceedings by the hotel’s management. In addition, presentations were also made to the Associates of the Year, Phyllis Francis – Williams (Front of the House) and Jennifer Applewaithe (Heart of the House).

President and CEO of the Barbados Tourism Association, David Rice, who spent his first decade in the tourism industry with Marriott International, offered kudos to the company for its faith in Barbados and its people.

"Kelly [Meyers], the General Manager, is from Barbados…[this] tells you that there are companies, multi-billion dollar companies, that believe and understand that Barbadians can do the job…We applaud them for coming here last year.?? When many other organisations didn’t feel it was necessary to invest, they did," he said, noting that this investment was not just in the physical structure, but in human capital as well.??

Area Vice President of Marriott International, Andrew Houghton, remarked that a connection between the hotel and the community had been established from day one: "I first visited this site two years ago when it was being built.?? The next stop I made was to the PomMarine Hospitality School where I met with [the Director] Bernice [Critchlow-Earle]… Bernice and her faculty gave us the vision to make sure that this hotel became 100 per cent Barbadian in its leadership, in its direction and in the opportunities we create," he said.

Courtyard by Marriott Bridgetown is one of more than 3,700 Marriott hotels worldwide.

nekaelia.hutchinson@barbados.gov.bb

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