HOW I CARRY ON
JAMAICA ’ S “ MR . AIRLIFT ” BIDS FAREWELL AFTER A 40-YEAR-LONG CAREER
Donnie Dawson , Jamaica Tourist Board ’ s Deputy Director of Tourism for the Americas , hangs up his hat after four decades in the travel industry .
WORDS / CODIE LIERMANN
Inset : Donnie Dawson ; left : Dawson with travel advisors at the annual One Love Affair event .
Spending 40 years in an industry is sure to come with ups and downs , successes and hardships and plenty of wisdom gained along the way . But one thing is for certain : you have to enjoy what you do , and this was absolutely the case for the Jamaica Tourist Board ’ s Deputy Director of Tourism for the Americas , Donnie Dawson .
After an extensive career in the travel industry , Dawson has entered a well-earned retirement . As he looks back on his profession , he does so fondly and with a sense of pride and satisfaction .
“ I ’ ve always said , the day I wake up , look myself in the mirror and don ’ t feel like going to work , I would quit . But I always felt excited going in because there was always something exciting to do ,” Dawson said .
CAREER ACHIEVEMENTS While there were many accomplishments to be proud of over his career , Dawson ’ s earliest achievement was working to begin nonstop service to Montego Bay from Los Angeles .
“ My first big accomplishment was to work
CODIE LIERMANN
and get Air Jamaica to fly a nonstop service from Los Angeles to Montego Bay ,” Dawson said . “ We worked hard on that , and I was very proud when Air Jamaica started to fly nonstop from Los Angeles to Montego Bay . That was a shining moment for everybody .”
This was only the beginning , and there are currently more than 20 cities in the United States offering nonstop service to Jamaica . Playing a vital role in getting these flights going , Dawson earned the nickname “ Mr . Airlift .”
Though the pandemic caused a disappointing setback , an additional element of the job Dawson felt was an accomplishment was developing business from Latin America to Jamaica : “ The most important ingredient in developing that business of course is airlift , and we worked for years developing nonstop airlift from Latin America into Jamaica .”
Dawson is also proud of where Jamaica stands right now . The last few years were tough , to say the least , and his team created a strategic plan , did things right and helped pull Jamaica out of the pandemic — even past the recovery stage right back into a growth situation .
TRAVEL ADVISOR ADVOCATE Dawson saw the value of travel advisors early on and realized any brand that wants to be
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