More than 100 stakeholders within the hospitality sector will meet in Nassau next week to discuss trends and the sustainability of the tourism product as officials look to diversify offerings to guests.
Beginning September 18, The College of The Bahamas' (COB) Culinary and Hospitality Management Institute (CHMI) will host its inaugural conference, "Shrinking the Global Divide from Divide: Synergy, Service and Sustainability" at Atlantis resort.
Those attending the three-day conference hail from The Bahamas, the Caribbean, the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom and Australia.
Dr. Sophia Rolle, an associate professor in tourism management at CHMI, told Guardian Business yesterday that culinary tourism is one of the growing areas that hotel properties are focusing on and will be discussed at next week's conference.
"The new buzzword in culinary tourism is gastronomy, which looks at the fusion of foods and how they are blended together. How do we infuse more native foods into the restaurants and the various food and beverage outlets? Culinary tourism is indeed one of the growing areas that are being focused on by hotel properties in the industry," she said.
"One of our COB presenters will be looking at the whole issue of procurement of native foods and why properties in The Bahamas are not using more native produce."
"As a matter of fact, we have about three presentations that are dedicated to looking at different aspects of culinary and how do we get those new fusion concepts into restaurants and out to the guests."
Presentations will include: "Sustainability... the tipping point has been reached: The 5 key issues facing the global hospitality industry"; "The gaming industry: security, regulations and operations: a global perspective"; and a panel discussion on "Quality service excellence: challenges and expectations for the new hospitality industry."
Speakers at the three-day event will include George Markantonis, president and managing director, Atlantis; Vaughn Roberts, vice president of corporate finance and treasury at Baha Mar; Vincent Vanderpool-Wallace, former minister of tourism, and Zhivargo Laing, former minister of state for finance.
"Sustainability will continue to be a very important concept and trend. How do we harness the sustainability of this industry from the perspective of energy reduction? The use of energy is a major concern," said Dr. Rolle. "How do you begin to operate an establishment that is energy-efficient?
"We are looking at sustainability from a financial standpoint. Yes, people are traveling and spending money but are we spending the money wisely. It's a timely topic that we selected and one that is on the lips of everyone around the world."
Several master classes will be offered including "Giving five star service" and "Hiring for success in restaurants."
COB President Dr. Betsy Vogel-Boze said the college is proud to host the international conference as the hospitality industry is vital to sustaining the Bahamian economy.
"Today's tourists, whether entering The Bahamas by land or sea, are immediately captivated by our breathtaking turquoise waters and white sandy beaches, seeking a vacation getaway like no other," she said. Next week's conference takes place September 18-20 at Atlantis.
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