On Thursday June 18, the Ministry of Health trained close to 300 stakeholders in Grenada Tourism Authority (GTA) organized health and safety protocol workshops at the National Stadium. For the past three weeks, health and safety training was conducted via the Zoom online platform, however, the GTA saw the need to host in person training for stakeholders unable to access the virtual sessions.
The first two sessions were conducted by Ministry of Health trainer Jessie-Ann Panchoo-Bruno. Group one consisted of 52 Tourist Vendors and Assistants from the Grand Anse Spice and Craft Market while group two had a total of 52 Tourist Vendors from the Annandale Waterfall, Fort Frederick, Grand Etang, Concord Waterfall, Bathway and the St. George’s Market. Ms. Bruno says she was happy to see that stakeholders were keen about getting the health and safety training. She further stated, “The three main ideas that we want them to take away is using social distancing, proper hand etiquette and wearing masks to protect themselves and their customers.”
Chief Executive Officer of the GTA Patricia Maher addressed participants reminding them of their critical role in representing Grenada, Carriacou and Petite Martinique while keeping residents and visitors safe. She said, “Every tourism enterprise is going to receive a certificate of inspection to operate. And with health and safety training you will qualify for a certificate of participation which says I am certified, I know how to keep myself and my guests safe. At the end of the day for us to get Tourism back on track, every Grenadian must ensure that health and safety protocols are practiced consistently.”
Training Session three for Water Taxi Operators and Conductors, Water Sports Operators and Tour Guides attracted 39 participants while session four for Taxi Drivers had 115. Both sessions were conducted by Ministry of Health trainer Bernadine Francois. The in-person training comes on the heels of the largest virtual session to date held on Wednesday June 17 for the Food and Beverage Sector. Just over 500 stakeholders logged on to the Zoom virtual platform to be trained and provide feedback. Thus far, over 1300 stakeholders have been trained across the Tourism industry as Grenada prepares to reopen its borders next month.
