Programme helps tourism interests break down language barriers

Barrington Flemming, Gleaner Writer

WESTERN BUREAU:

DENNIS HICKEY, executive director of the Tourism Product Development Company (TDPCo), has said the tourism ministry's language skills training programme is an asset to the tourism product as Jamaica continues to experience a major upswing in visitors from Russia and Central and South America.

The Russian and Spanish Language Skills Training programme is geared at training stakeholders within the tourism industry.

"Since 2013, we have seen a 531 per cent increase in the number of stopover visitors from Russia and a 127.2 per cent increase in Central and South American visitors over 2010," Hickey said.

In 2010, Jamaica had 1,945 stopover visitors from Russia, while in 2013, that figure rose significantly to 12, 286. There were 13,442 stopover visitors from Central and South America in 2010. In 2013, the number almost doubled to 25,037.

Hickey, who was addressing the latest cohort of graduates from the programme at the University of the West Indies, Mona - Western Jamaica Campus on Monday, attributed the increase in visitors to a major addition of room stock by Spanish investors, the relaxation of visa requirements, and increased airlift spearheaded by the tourism ministry.

"As we diversify our markets and products here in Jamaica, we must make the necessary adjustments to expand our skills to meet this new wave. It requires breaking down the language barriers through consistent interactions and immersing ourselves for a better understanding of the culture of these groups," Hickey said.

ADAPTING TO CHANGING TIMES

The two valedictorians - Byron Chung, who spoke in Russian, and Tamisha Douse, who spoke in Spanish - said the dynamism of the global economy had demanded that the international workforce be equipped to deal with the rapid myriad changes as they presented serious challenges.

Chung, who is a craft trader at the Old Fort Craft Market in Montego Bay, said he decided to do the course after meeting people from varying nations, including Russia, and not being able to understand them.

"When the Russians come, they just look around and go back out because they don't know what we are saying, and we cannot understand them either. Since then, I have met some Russian tourists, and when they realised I could speak the language, they were very excited and interacted with me. They bought products and sat and talked with me," Chung said.

For Douse, who is a tour representative at Dunn's River Tour and Park, the course has been of significant help, as she is now able to communicate more effectively with people who speak different languages.

barrington.flemming@gleanerjm.com