Tourism Sector Gives Awards to Begin Tourism Awareness Month

Tourism Sector Gives Awards to Begin Tourism Awareness Month May has once again been declared as Tourism Awareness Month and will be celebrated under the banner Tourism is Everybody's Business, Let's Play Our Part, reminding all Dominican's of their role in maintaining and developing a stake in the tourism industry. The annual public awareness campaigns and activities for Tourism Awareness Month are organized by the Ministry of Tourism in collaboration with the Discover Dominica Authority (DDA) and the Dominica Hotel & Tourism Association (DHTA) to highlight the importance of the tourism industry to Dominica.

The theme for this year, "Rediscover Dominica", urges Dominicans to make a special effort to re-discover their home and enjoy Dominica's Tourism Products and Services. Some of major activities during the month long celebration includes; Jazz n' Creole Fringe Events and Main Stage; Service Providers Appreciation Day at the Melville Hall Airport and Roseau Ferry Terminal; Erecting of Beach Signage at four beaches illustrating precautionary measures; Tourism Fun Day at Freshwater Lake organized to foster greater camaraderie among tourism stakeholders; All Smiles Day will be highlighted one day during Customer Service Week to encourage greater customer service practices; Online Video Contest named "Let's Rediscover Dominica through video", whereby the public is invited to create and submit professional or amateur short videos focusing on ways to Re-discover Dominica; Roseau Paint – a – Thon will seek to beautify and uplift four houses in the city; Radio Quiz aimed at educating the general public on tourism related matters; Tourism Youth Congress among Secondary Schools; Hike Fest, this year extended to include Hike n 'Jazz for a total of ten hikes; and the National Tourism Cocktail to climax the Tourism Awareness Month activities

The month of activities was kicked off with the 2013 Tourism Industry Awards Ceremony on Wednesday, May 1st at the Krazy Kocounts. The awards are a key component of the Tourism Awareness Month as it recognizes individuals and groups who have made a valiant contribution through their career, private lives, volunteer work, or investments towards tourism development and promotion in Dominica. Awards presented were:

• Accommodation of the Year: Secret Bay, located in Picard Portsmouth
• Tour Operator of the Year: Rave Ltd, Wacky Rollers
• Tour Guide of the year: Louisana Burton an employee of the Wacky Rollers
• Tourism Taxi Service Provider of the Year: Oris Campbell
• Tourism Vendor of the Year: Julietta Wade
• Responsible Tourism Award: Picard Beach Cottage
• Community Tourism Development Award: The Wotten Waven Development Committee
• Tourism Industry Employee of the Year Award: Blanche Rodney, a room attendant at the Picard Beach Cottage
• The Director's Award: Andrew "Cobra" O'Brien for contribution to the development of Dominica's yachting sector.