ST JAMES, Jamaica— Newly appointed chairman of the Tourism Enhancement Fund (TEF), Ryan Parkes is challenging educators to play a pivotal role in positioning tourism education as a stand alone industry. How well Jamaica trains its people, he said, will have a significant impact on the country’s future competitiveness in the global tourism market.

Parkes’s comments came as he addressed a Teachers’ Day luncheon hosted by St James East Central Member of Parliament Edmund Bartlett at the Montego Bay Convention Centre on Wednesday. The East Central St James Scholarship and Welfare Fund is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year.

During his time at the podium Parkes argued that in the aftermath of last October’s Hurricane Melissa, Jamaica’s tourism product is now at “an inflection point” and therefore rebuilding the sector requires more than restoring infrastructure. He stressed that it also needs a re-imagining of the country’s human capital.