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Contact:
Rose Marie Harris
Tuesday, July 27, 2004 - The survival and growth of the island’s tourism
industry depends largely on the reporting of various issues related to the
industry by members of the local press.
So said Director of Tourism, Mr. Hilary Modeste at the Second Annual
Media/Tourism Conference on Tuesday, July 27th, 2004, He called on media
managers to ensure that issues of tourism receive greater prominence.
Mr. Modeste is of the view that this can only be positively manifested with
established specialised media practitioners at all media houses. “I know we are
a small country and we do not have the resources that large countries have with
large newspapers, and can have specialised correspondence and even travel
correspondence. Nonetheless, once you are providing information, you must be
knowledgeable about the situation from which that information is coming,” he
said.
Notwithstanding the mandate of the Saint Lucia Tourist Board to provide
information and knowledge, media practitioners must be in a position to make
comments, which can help the Saint Lucia Tourist Board and the wider society
understand the mandate of the industry.
Mr. Modeste reminded the media workers that the tourism industry belonged to the
wider society, as it earmarked to become the industry that would become the main
force for economic growth in the future. “I think we all have a responsibility
to understand the dynamics of the tourism sector and this is what we are going
to do this morning - to bring to you some of the main issues affecting the
tourism sector,” he said.
During Tuesday’s Tourism Media workshop, a number of presentations, including
The Tourism Industry Machinery; the Role and Work of the Saint Lucia Tourist
Board; the Role and Work of the Ministry of Tourism; and Issues facing Caribbean
and Saint Lucian Tourism for the next ten years were on the drawing board for
discussion.
There was also a panel discussion on “Issues Facing Caribbean and Saint Lucian
Tourism for the next ten years.”
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