Even though Puerto Rico ranks in the top tier of Caribbean stay-over and cruise arrivals, registering millions of visitors each year, manufacturing takes pride of place in the local economy. That provides even more competition for the hospitality industry's growing need for workers.

According to the World Travel and Tourism Council, not just in the Caribbean but worldwide, the hospitality industry is having difficulty in attracting and retaining motivated employees because of the perception that it mostly offers low-pay, low-status jobs, with long demanding working hours and difficult conditions, with little to offer in terms of worthwhile careers or career advancement opportunities.

The WTTC’s Caribbean report on "The Impact of Travel and Tourism on Jobs and the Economy" said the issues of employee and workforce sustainability need serious attention: the pressure to improve efficiency and production must be balanced with the need for quality of work life and general quality of life for tourism workers. 

“At the same time there is a real concern among some Caribbean operators and destinations that service quality has deteriorated and is becoming a real product delivery issue. In some cases this deterioration reflects a lack of awareness by employees regarding the difference between ‘service’ and ‘servitude’, which must be addressed to guarantee the sustainability of the tourism product," the report reads.

Terestella Gonzalez-Denton

Terestella Gonzalez-Denton, the Executive Director of the Puerto Rico Tourism Company, is one tourism director who is acutely aware of tourism’s importance to the local communities, and according to her, for a destination to succeed in the development of sustainable tourism it needs to have three guiding principles in mind: to promote viable economic activities that provide socioeconomic benefits and common goods; to provide stable opportunities for economic development that provide social services for the host community, contributing at the same time to the reduction of poverty; and to promote ample community collaboration and participation to ensure sustainable development in tourism projects. 

Speaking at last week’s 8th annual Caribbean Conference on Sustainable Tourism Development in San Juan, the visionary tourism leader said "one of our priorities is precisely to let the people know that the tourism industry is both an important sector of our economy and a great contributor not only to the well-being of our people but also in the improvement of the quality of our life."

She said tourism is big business in the Caribbean and, as with any major industry; it brings with it many challenges. "As government officials, we face these challenges, attempting to balance between making the right decisions for economic development and also preserving what make us unique and appealing as a destination. The basic principles of sustainable tourism help us make tough choices, balancing our responsibility as economic stimulators and our duty to conserve local ecosystems and natural resources." 

"At the Puerto Rico Tourism Company, we’re working on an integrated approach to tourism planning and management, combining new tourism strategies with traditional urban management; infrastructure development, transportation, land use planning, economic development, among other things. All these efforts are thought to lead the way for a more competitive destination but in a responsible way."

Nevertheless, continued Gonzalez-Denton, "to be effective in our efforts and achieve our goals we need to engage people, we need to engage communities, leave the concept aside and put our words in to action."

Gonzalez-Denton’s approach is commendable. And while action is imperative, the Caribbean region must also sharpen its communications tools to share the success stories of tourism sustainability with its people and in the marketplace.

The San Juan parley demonstrated once again that there is much work to do, not the least of which is chronicling stories of tourism sustainability which will surely resonate positively with today’s discerning travelers who want more than sun and fun, but are also happier to see their dollars helping the local people.