With the buoyancy of the local tourism industry, the number of micro tourism enterprises is on a rise. Against this background, a micro business workshop was held with a view of building capacity in those business.

The initiative is part of activities being hosted for the 4th annual Business Month.

Tourism Officer in the Department of Tourism, Samantha Charles, said: “We discussed the theme—Sustainable Enterprises, People, Planet, Profit—and we felt that we should put together some type of initiative for operators within the industry. We decided on a workshop on sustainable development for micro tourism enterprises, and we focused on 30 small operations from the water-based sub-sector, and the attraction and accommodation sub-sector.”

The key topic-areas were Sustainable Environmental Practices, Maximizing Profits in the Tourism Industry, and Effective Human Resource Management.

Sarah Dupres-Cotter, Manager of the Department of Justice in the Civil Status Registry, said proper human resource management within the sector is vital.

“I took the participants through the importance of effective human resource management because it is a very important area, especially when it comes to topics such as recruitment and selection, the psychological contract, performance management, and the importance of performance appraisals. I felt it was very fitting to provide them with some detailed information on these topics so that they can incorporate it into their daily operations.”

The workshop took place on Wednesday, Nov. 28, at the Saint Lucia Hotel and Tourism Association.