The Bottom, Saba – On August 14th & 15th, Saba held its first Tourism conference for stakeholders of both the private and public sector of the tourism industry on Saba. Attendance at the conference was high and much interest was displayed by the attendees. Topics highlighted were Customer Service, Digital Marketing, Team Work and the Importance of Tourism to an Island’s Economy. The Social Media and Digital Marketing session was very well received. The possibility of bringing presenter Theresa Overby, Senior Digital Project Manager of Miles Partnership, back to work with persons in both the private and public sector, is already being explored.

The theme surrounding this conference was “Tourism is Everyone’s Business” and this was mentioned throughout the various discussions. Feedback from the stakeholders indicated that this conference was an important first step to creating better cooperation between persons involved within the tourism industry. Working together was emphasized as the key to a successful product and these relationships will continue to be strengthened with activities in the future.

Commissioner of Tourism Bruce Zagers said he was pleased to witness the success of the conference. “This conference was initiated as a way of bringing the stakeholders together and reminding them that having a strong foundation is important within our industry. I believe that these goals were achieved with this conference. Of course, this is just a first step. To capitalize on what was started, follow-up is necessary. We are working towards creating a successful product, and this conference was just the first building block.” Zagers also said he wanted to thank all of the speakers for their presentations, which he considered well thought-out and engaging.

The commissioner also thanked the attendees of the conference. “Without the participation of the tourism stakeholders, this conference would not have been successful. Therefore, I would like to thank all those who attended the sessions and contributed to the continued development of tourism on Saba”, stated Zagers.