March 3, 2017 By Alhaji Mansaray
Having gone through two weeks training in hospitality hotel training, 19 staff of the Leisure Lodge Hotel at Aberdeen in Freetown had received certificates at a ceremony held at the conference room of the hotel.
Minister of Tourism and Cultural Affairs, Sidi Yahya Tunis, during the presentation of the certificates, said since his appointment, he has been emphasizing the need for investments in capacity building, marketing and rebranding Sierra Leone. He added that his goal was to encourage people to invest in the Tourism sector.
“If the tourism industry is to grow, the responsibility lies on every Sierra Leonean. I am highly impressed with the training because capacity building is very key,” the Tourism Minister stated.
He called on the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Leisure Lodge Hotel, Tamba Allieu Kokobaye, to continue training his workers, so as to enable them know how to receive and take care of guests, adding that when guests are well treated at a hotel, they will be moved to come again.
Chairman of the National Tourist Board, Alhaji Ahmed Wurie, said what the CEO of the Leisure Lodge Hotel has done was laudable, especially when the trainer from the two weeks hospitality training was from the Netherlands.
He urged others to emulate what the CEO has done as he expressed his gratitude to the trainer, Jeannette Biesbroeck, for the training.
General Manager, National Tourist Board, Yasin Kargbo, said the CEO of Leisure Lodge Hotel has been in the tourism industry for a long time.
He called on the grandaunts to treat others as they would like to be treated, noting that the training, which has been given to them, was like a baton, which they needed to take further.
Trainer of the grandaunts, Jeannette Biesbroeck, said all of the trainees were highly committed during the training.
“During the training, the trainees were able to sell the Leisure Lodge Hotel and Sierra Leone to me. That has urged me to come back to Sierra Leone in the future. The training mainly focused on health and safety of the guests,” she noted.
Leisure Lodge Hotel CEO, Tamba Allieu Kokobaye, said the training came at a time when the staffs were in dire need of it.
He thanked the trainer, Jeannette Biesbroeck, for making it possible to come to Sierra Leone and passed on her expertise to his staff.
“I also want to thank the National Tourist Board for their support to this training. I am very proud of my staff because of their performance during the training. They were very determined to go through this training and they have successfully done so,” he said.