TTAL hosts appreciation event for outgoing Board of Directors

Posted May 25, 2022

The Tobago Tourism Agency Limited (TTAL) ushered in a new era for the organisation on Monday May 16th 2022, as members of the current board – and Agency staff – united for an intimate, celebratory send-off of the previous Board of Directors at the Agency’s offices in Scarborough.

Chairperson of TTAL, Ms. Alicia Edwards said: “When we were appointed and we made our first visit to the office, I asked the CEO to organize an appreciation for the former board as our first order of business; because it’s important to recognise the efforts of people who have gone before you.”

TTAL’s current Board of Directors was appointed by the Secretary of Tourism, Culture, Antiquities and Transportation on April 11th and charged with the responsibility of managing and providing strategic direction for destination Tobago’s marketing, as well as product development and innovation. The Directors are Mr. Naseeb Mohammed (Deputy Chairman), Mrs. Asha Mars-Lewis, Ms. Dalia Jerry, Mr. Orville Dillon, Mr. Shuan Lovelace, Ms. Avion Hercules, Ms. Ro Ann Wright and Ms. Ria Esdelle. Mr. Christopher James, President of the Tobago Hotel and Tourism Association, and Mrs Korice AQ Nancis, Advisor to the Secretary of Tourism, serve as Ex-Officio members, with Mr Alex Job-Thomas serving as Secretary to the Board.

The “Evening of Appreciation” provided an opportunity to recognise the many years of service the outgoing Board gave to Tobago’s tourism sector. Led by former Chairperson Dr. Sherma Roberts since the establishment of TTAL in 2017, the Board helped destination Tobago achieve pivotal milestones for the tourism sector. These include new direct airlift, an internationally acclaimed and award-winning marketing campaign, capacity-building opportunities for local stakeholders, globally recognized sustainability accolades, and growth in arrivals to the island for the first time in almost a decade.

Ms. Edwards acknowledged the contributions made by the former board in her address to the audience at the event, stating:

“I may not know all of you – I’m meeting some of you for the first time – but that does not prevent me from thanking you for your efforts in laying the foundation for where we stand now. Because we have had that foundation, it is now possible for us to pick up where you have left off. I know you spent a lot of long hard hours at the beginning, and through the pandemic, doing what was necessary, and it’s only the love of country and love of island that motivated you to do that. So tonight, I want to appeal to that love for country, and that love for Tobago, that they may be the glue that unites us as previous board, current board, employees… and let us know that more important than the differences that may exist among us, are the things that hold us together.”

The outgoing board was presented with tokens of appreciation by members of the Agency’s staff, after which former Chairperson Dr. Sherma Roberts took to the microphone to bring remarks.

Dr. Roberts – a regional tourism expert, author, and Coordinator of the M.Sc. Tourism & Hospitality Management programme at UWI Cave Hill - shared her delight on receiving an invitation to the appreciation event, thanking the current Chairperson "for this gesture of magnanimity” that “speaks volumes to the type of transformational leader that you are”.

After expressing her gratitude to the former board of directors, as well as the current staff and CEO at the Agency for their support during her tenure of leadership, Dr. Roberts directly addressed the new Chairperson and Board stating:

“I want to end by offering warm congratulations to the Chairwoman and her new Board. The task is great. You are on the cusp of transformation and tectonic change. Do not return to the status quo, but let your leadership, your advocacy, your decisions, be ones that will embrace a new and transformative agenda. Be inclusive; go beyond people’s imagination of what you should be. We have set a precedence of that and we encourage you to continue in that tradition.”