MRS. CRISTINA DELGADO-JOSEPH, MARKETING AND PROPERTIES OFFICER

MARKETING THE AIRPORT IS MARKETING GRENADA

Her duties and responsibilities include the marketing of the services of Grenada’s airports including Lauriston Airport in Carriacou. She is also charged with coordination with the concessionaires, tenants and users of the airport facilities.

Under her care fall airlines, service providers like catering and fuel suppliers providing therefore the link between the airport authority and the users of the airport.
An experienced member of staff, having been at Point Salines since 1997, Delgado- Joseph has witnessed changes and adjustments to the facilities.

She said since she has been at the airport there have been two major projects. One was undertaken in 2000 when there was the expansion of the apron to accommodate more aircraft and the arrival and departure area were air-conditioned to improve comfort to the traveling public and the second major project is the one taking place now.

Joseph’s job is not without its share of challenges she having to interact with so many individuals, companies and organizations.

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Besides changing the physical appearance of the airport, Joseph said the projects that have taken place have also changed the culture of the PSIA meaning the attitude and mentality of the staff, the level of motivation and other aspects of operation as it relates to human resource. She said once you improve your facilities the pride of the people manning the facility will grow correspondingly. Joseph said PSIA is trying to develop the facilities en par with international standards both physically and operationally.

This instills a sense of pride which in turn positively affects performance and the way people go about doing things.

The marketing boss said the concessionaires are very happy with the changes. She said what the changes are trying to achieve is more functionality with the limited resources available in order to accommodate the needs of the traveling public while complying with the necessary international regulations.

The bottom line of all this she said is for the benefit of the traveler. The objective is for them to have a hassle free experience when they travel through the airport from the moment they enter the airport compound to the time the plane takes off if they are traveling out, from the time the plane lands to when they leave the compound for those coming in.

All the different services that the passenger encounters in the process needs to be efficient and the access from one service to the other smooth flowing and hassle free Joseph said.

As a tool for selling Grenada as a destination Joseph said the service provided is obviously the best marketing tool and once the traveler is satisfied that will work as promotion for the country.

She is confident that the facilities are international in the quality of service provided bearing in mind that we are competing with players around the world and some passengers would have passed through more than one airport on their journey so will be able to compare. In that case how we take care of passengers is very important.

Joseph said she is satisfied that PSIA with all the developments it is putting in place will perform as best it can at this point in time given our limited resources and limited space.

She said there are challenges but they are rising to them, working with all those concerned to be able to excel in the way services are delivered.

The airport is quite able to handle its traffic and in fact, she said, airport development is ahead of the demand.
The focus will continue to be on outstanding services and excellent care of passengers and other persons using the facility and with the dedication and motivation of the staff this should not be too difficult.

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