Use technology to capitalise on opportunities

Entrepreneur and Executive Director of Tobago Bridal Association, Duane Lyons, on Monday said a commitment to excellence was crucial to success in tourism as he urged young people to make use of their technological know-how to own and transform the island’s tourism industry.

“You need to be committed to serve people to the best of your ability, once you master that you will be on your way to making a lot of money through this industry. It’s not just about having a destination product, find a way to let people know about the experience and when the visitors get here, you still need to make them comfortable and encourage them to come again,” Lyon advised.

Speaking at a Youth Tourism symposium on Monday hosted by the Division of Tourism at the Shaw Park Cultural Complex, he

also advised that an understand of the tourism product and the market were crucial elements for success.

“Tourism is simply creating and packaging reasons for people to travel. We need to understand what we are going to offer and who is going to receive that offer so you can position yourself in the best position. We all need to get involved to create a plan that would attract these temporary investors (tourists) to come to our country,” Lyon said.

He said innovations in technology could be used to give the Tobago tourism product a significant boost.

“Almost anything could be a reason to make people come to Tobago. It’s not just in the hotel industry, it could be hosting events, it could be in the field of health; we could have people coming here for state of the art health care. It could be for our culture to our local designs, so anything can be a reason and as young people, what you need to explore is interesting ways to boost the tourism sector,” he advised.

“You, the young people, need to embrace it. Just by basic things you would know, you can unleash possibilities that are totally

limitless. You do not need a million-dollar budget. Through technology, you have a wide network to put your product out there. A lot of things are happening, and you are faced with many opportunities that are waiting for you to take up the challenge and own it. You don’t have to do this alone, it is a people business, pull together your friends and family, capitalise on everyone’s ability and let’s transform this island’s tourism sector.”