2 | TPDCONNECT AUGUST 2018
FROM THE
EXECUTIVE OFFICE
We celebrated our freedom as a nation
recently, but let us not forget that with freedom
comes responsibility. We are not free to tear
down our country, to destroy our environment
or to disregard those we serve. In our business
of tourism we often get entangled in discussions
of service and servitude. Servitude is defined
as “a condition of being involuntarily under the
power of another,” while service can be defined
as “an action done to help someone” or work
“done for the customers of an establishment
with regard to whether it pleases them or
not.” As free people and the custodians of
our tourism product, we have a critical role
to play in embracing the advancement of
our society, in developing an authentic and
vibrant brand that will continue to attract
visitors to our shores and to please them.
As the agency with responsibility for the
development and enhancement of our
tourism product we must choose to
accentuate Jamaica’s positives and there
are a myriad. When we give a guarantee
to our visitors to “come to Jamaica and feel
alright” or we are promoted by the JTB as the
“home of alright” we must help to deliver on
that promise consistently. Keep it real and
assist in whatever way we can to keep
consistent this guarantee. Be authentic, be
responsible.
What role will you play today and how will
you dispense with the responsibilities that our
freedom has afforded us? Let us continue to
build on the work of our forefathers to provide
destination assurance so that our visitors will
continue to see our home as a place to visit
time and time again, where they will have an
experience that is safe, secure and seamless.
Dr Andrew Spencer
Executive Director