The air crackles with excitement over the possibility of the world renowned Sandals resort setting up shop in Tobago.
Advocates believe the arrival of the most recognisable hotel chain in the Caribbean could trigger a quantum leap for tourism on the island.
Less enthusiastic are smaller hoteliers and environmentalists who are already marshalling others to their opposition of the proposed development.
There is one question which hasn't surfaced in the vigorous pre-emptive for-and-against debate; can Tobago's customer service rise to the exacting standards a Sandals presence will impose? Trinidad is of course no slouch when it comes to deplorable customer service, but Sandals isn't coming to Trinidad. Washikongs maybe.
The principal champion of a Sandals incursion appears to be Tobago-born Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley. He is quoted as telling a political gathering in Tobago that Tobagonians should ready themselves for the Sandals epoch.
The prime minister has many supporters of his push to romance the franchise all the way down to the pendant of the Caribbean island chain. Newspaper reports portray the Hotel and Tourism Association and the Tobago arm of the Chamber of Industry and Commerce as being gung-ho on the idea.
There are voices in the industry who believe the international cachet of the Sandals empire would lift all tourism in Tobago.
There is, however, something else which Sandals will bring to Tobago; inflexible demand for the highest standard of customer service and hospitality.
An international clientele seduced by the Sandals brand will spend with the expectation of sterling service. Their expectation of friendly, above-and-beyond attitudes among the hotel staff will extend to every single Tobagonian they come into contact with on the island. Personal experience with Tobago tells me this will be a very steep climb for the sister isle.
A few years ago I spent some time there shooting a documentary series. While there were several pleasant and rewarding encounters with Tobagonians, for the most part, in the hotel environment and out and about, I endured rudeness, apathy, and thinly-veiled hostility.
In one instance I was trying to record a mud oven in operation on the North Coast of the island. My crew was accompanied by an official from the Tobago House of Assembly who arranged for the production team to capture footage of the mud oven as an iconic village scene. When we got to the location, we met the surliest creature imaginable who, notwithstanding the prostrate supplications of our fixer, absolutely forbade us from shooting on the premises. This woman vacillated between setting her price for cooperation to concluding that no amount of money would cut it. She repeated in a hundred different ways, "Meeee-eh know nuttin' bout dat!"
Thwarted by stubbornness, we decided to take five and give the brooding baker time to cool down. Just then, a group of German tourists made their way to the mud oven and its resident virago, only to be chased away in similar fashion! Whaaaat? You were expecting to get bread from the mud oven at 10 am????
My experience at one of the oldest resort hotels on the island didn't salve my bruised sensibilities. The staff there were, at best, indifferent. Signs that something wasn't quite right manifested on my arrival. I waited for two hours to check into a room that had been booked weeks in advance.
With nary an apology in sight, hotel managers weaved in and around my party and me as if we were potted plants in the lobby. Thereafter, my stay at the popular resort was all consternation and disappointment. For the staff, the smallest request was more complex than solving climate change. For the duration of my time there I was made to feel like an uninvited guest who overstayed his welcome.
The prime minister, in championing Sandals speaks about training for Tobagonians to steel them for the impending evolution of the tourism sector. Something tells me mere customer service and hospitality training will fall far short. Tobagonians (Trinidadians could benefit from this as well) need to understand that service is not automatically analogous to servitude. They must appreciate that tourism shouldn't be demonised as some form of neo-colonialism.
Training is a necessary component of the hospitality sector, but educating our people about the role tourism plays in economic development is equally critical. Public education can help people understand their part in the value chain of creating memorable experiences for visitors. Small acts of kindness, or less challenging, a pleasant demeanour, whether you operate a hotel or a parlour, can contribute immeasurably to the growth and prosperity of the tourism sector.
Tobagonians can be shown that tourism is more than making beds. It is about identifying the opportunities for entrepreneurship (coin operated laundries, tour operations, restaurants) and claiming the industry as your own.
When the chatter about the pros and cons of a Sandals presence in Tobago heats up, hopefully customer service and healthy attitudes will earn a place at the table. If Tobago hopes to ascend to the next level of tourism competitiveness, dour faces and doh-kear, not me nah-ness must find no place.