Willemstad, February 19, 2020 – On February 18, 2020, CHATA hosted a Hospitality Security Conference where the Minister of Justice, Mr. Quincy Girigorie, Director of Bossi Security Risk Management, Mr. Aaron Antersijn and Director of Marriott Vacations Worldwide Corporation, Mr. Clarence Izzard, gave presentations to emphasize on Safety & Security within the tourism industry.
Mr. Girigorie started the conference by comparing crime rates in the Caribbean and stressing on how Curaçao needs to improve in regard to Security. He continued to assure the members that Curaçao is indeed one of the safest islands in the Caribbean, however, emphasizes that different parties need to work together in order to create a safer environment for the locals and the tourists. It was noted that neglected areas, which received more visibility, instantly improved due to the simple adjustment of placing lights. It is therefore that, together with the Minister of Economic Development and Tourism, measures will be taken to invest and improve not only in the people authorized to take action, but also in the areas that need attention.
Further, Mr. Antersijn gave a brief presentation on raising awareness on safety and security in our community. He started off his presentation with a simple interactive question, what does safety mean to you? He continued to share that “Safety is a feeling, if the feeling is not there, you can run any statistic you want, but a feeling remains a feeling and one must focus on creating that feeling”. He brought up a point that safety and security is something that people are confronted with at a later age and stresses that basic techniques should be taught in schools in order to identify when something seems out of place.
To bring the Hospitality Security Conference to an end, Mr. Clarence Izzard concluded the presentations with some valuable advice after focusing on property safety and identifying human trafficking. Pointing out the various possible scenarios that can take place at a property in regard to safety, he continued with guest security and encourages people to use their common sense and foresee situations or else it will be deemed as negligence. He encourages people to not be a hero, but rather observe and report to those with authority.