FOR A LONG TIME I have held the belief that every manager, director or senior policymaker should take at least one day out of the year to become a customer or in the case of tourism, a visitor.
A recent experience confirmed, at least through my eyes, that so many people in critical decision-making roles lose touch with exactly what makes our industry work well, because they are so far removed from sampling the actual product or service.
Two overseas relatives staying with us for three weeks decided to treat me to the 20/20 West Indies/Australia match. They booked online, purchased the tickets using a credit card and then went to Kensington Oval to collect them a week prior to the event.
On the day, we allowed plenty of time to drive to the stadium and park before walking about 500 yards to the Oval.
On arrival, unlike the superbly organized Cricket World Cup 2007, we were then confronted with a massive queue to pass through security.
Finally after nearly an hour standing without any shade in the hot sun, we passed through the gate and then attempted to find our seats. No less than three separate KOMI staff in uniform could not help us and eventually someone dressed in the principal sponsor’s colours pointed us in the right direction.
By this time we have already missed the first four-and-a-half overs of play and there were still hundreds of ticketholders behind us, in the long line.
It seems incredible that knowing the likely level of attendance, the organizers did not employ more security staff to process entry faster.
It surely cannot be an economic consideration, with our tickets costing $60 and maybe somewhere between 10 000 and 15 000 attending what could amount to three or four hours of entertainment.
So a possible $1 million of ticket revenue alone and that’s before all the other contributing monetary factors, including television rights, secondary spending and so on.
What would another ten security guards have cost for five hours?
Fortunately the level of cricket was at a high standard, but if we are really using sports tourism as a way to grow increased arrival numbers, we have to better demonstrate that we cherish our visitors and that we are really interested in their welfare.
We were seated at one of the upper levels and more or less at the same viewing point as many of the television cameras. Looking across at the Party Stand, I noticed that the BTA had erected a beautifully produced and colourful advertising hoarding meant (I would think) for those cameras to pick up and transmit to a potential global audience.
This is where we seem to lose the essential attention to detail. About 40 plastic chairs that were empty for the duration of the game had been positioned in front of the sign, almost totally obscuring it.
Maybe the partially hidden sign was not visible from the private boxes or privileged official seating areas, so it was even more important for the paid “troops in the field” to personally check and ensure that “we” were maximizing every opportunity.
• Adrian Loveridge is a hotelier of four decades’ standing; email rediscover@caribsurf.com
