The man who will take this country’s tourism product to the next level is a woman.

Some time in January, Dominican Yvonne Armour-Shillingford will take up the crucial post as Chief Executive Officer of the newly formed St Vincent and the Grenadines Tourism Authority.{{more}}

While he wasn’t ready to make an announcement on the appointment as yet, SEARCHLIGHT bumped into Tourism Minister Glen Beache and Armour- Shillingford at the first day of Nine Morning festivities last Tuesday, December 16, and pressed him on her identity.

In between laughing up a storm as she watched the performances and the crowd interaction at the Nine Mornings programme, Armour-Shillingford spoke briefly to SEARCHLIGHT.

“I am looking forward to the challenge. St Vincent and the Grenadines is a wonderful (Tourism) Product,” she said.

She said that taking St Vincent and the Grenadines to the next level in tourism development will need a partnership between the private and public sectors.

Armour-Shillingford, who is a Human Resource Development Advisor with the Regional Sustainable Tourism Development Programme (CRSTDP) at the Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO), has over 25 years of experience in the Tourism/Hospitality industry.

Proficient in Spanish and Creole, and fluent in French, Armour- Shillingford has served as a Hotel Management/HRD Consultant, and as a Lecturer at the Barbados Community College Hospitality Institute.

She told SEARCHLIGHT that the ultimate goal for the Tourism Authority must be to “facilitate a better living” for Vincentians, by maximizing the tourism product.

She is confident that Tourism can continue to develop in this country despite the economic challenges that are affecting countries the world over.

The Tourism Authority will be primarily responsible for the setting and maintaining of standards in the local industry, and the crucial area of marketing.

Minister Beache is already on record as saying that the Authority cannot become an extension of the Ministry of Tourism.

“One of the things I want to make sure is that the Tourism Authority and the Ministry of Tourism do not become one,” he said at a recent press conference.

The Board of the Authority is led by businessman Joel Providence, and includes Lucille Cozier, as Deputy Chairman, Vidal Browne, Bianca Porter, John West, Ezra Ledger and Crispin Charles.