For the majority of countries of the Caribbean, tourism has become the most important source of income and the largest earner of foreign exchange. With the decline of the traditional agricultural sector through increased competition and the loss of preferential treatment, many of the smaller island economies are now more dependent on the tourism sector than ever before as the mainstay of their economies.

Despite its long-standing and growing importance to these economies, tourism in its varied and numerous facets, has not been subject to much detailed elucidation and analysis, a deficiency that series editor Chandana Jayawardena sets out to address in three separate but related volumes: Visions, Missions and Challenges; People, Service and Hospitality; and More than Sun, Sand and Sea.

In this volume the authors address the most important elements necessary for the success of any tourism product – People, Service and Hospitality. Issues such as the quality of human resources available, their development and management and the role and function of the host population are addressed through detailed country studies and references. They see the creation of a service attitude in the Caribbean hospitality industry as a crucial factor, particularly in the all-inclusive resorts, highlighting the importance of service over servility. Special attention is given to the small hotel sector through case studies drawn from Curaçao, Dominica and Jamaica.
The contributors to this volume, as indeed to the other two that follow, are drawn almost equally from academia and from practitioners and industry experts providing he kind of balance that will make this book accessible and relevant for practitioners, researchers, policymakers and students in training.