Having collectively been in the tourism industry for over 70 years, Richard and Carol Bourke could well be considered among tourism’s elite, if not ultimate, power couple.

Richard, 60, a Justice of the Peace and former President of the Montego Bay chapter of the Jamaica Hotel and Tourist Association (JHTA), will however tell anyone that Carol, is, and has always been, the “star of the family” and the “true engine behind our remarkable union.”

Richard is currently the Managing Director for Amstar, a local destination management company (DMC) and a subsidiary of the powerful and internationally renowned Apple Leisure Group, while Carol is General Manager for the Hilton Rose Hall Resort & Spa.

While Richard has been the general manager of multiple hotels and also president of the Trelawny Chamber of Commerce, Carol—the first female Managing Director for a major hotel chain in Jamaica—was the hotelier of the year in 2016.

In October, she was recognised for her contribution to tourism when she was honoured by the Jamaican Government with the Order of Distinction.

“I have had my moments but my wife is the real big shot,” quipped a proud Richard, while sitting back leisurely in his chair at the board room at the Hilton, Montego Bay, during an interview last week.

“I have been to places and have accomplished many things during my 38 years in tourism. There is nothing, however, that I have done that will ever come close to what my wife has achieved and what she continues to achieve.”

Carol, clearly the more reserved of the two, said her husband was simply “being kind”, adding, “Richard has been successful in every aspect of tourism…starting out as a hotel night manager to a watersports operator and moving all the way up to general manager.”

“He has had a great run and even today I can say that I continue to rely on his advice and support,” added the proud 55-year-old mother.

Don’t be fooled by their genuine humility and obvious political correctness, as the dynamic duo will readily concede that life was far from being a cakewalk or anything that even remotely resembles “a bed of roses.”

To hear them tell it, it was a classic tale of “from nothing to something” where “nothing was handed to us…no godfathers…no caregivers…no sympathisers.”

“From entering the industry as a teenager fresh out of Westwood High School at the tender age of 17, beginning as an event’s coordinator, I had to fight every step of the way to earn respect and to be where I am today,” recalled Carol.

“When I talk to my staff, telling them that they can be whatever they want to be in this sector, I see the look of disbelief as if what I am saying is so farfetched and so out of reach. I told them however that I am the living testament of perseverance and that they can achieve their dreams by just having the right attitude and believing in their own abilities.”

Carol, with a teary-eyed Richard Bourke looking on, recalled when she was told by “one of my early superiors” that because of her lack of a college education, “I could only go so far” in the sector.

She noted however that, while perturbed and “amazingly disappointed” she remained undeterred and used that discouragement as motivation to become “even more ambitious.”

Richard also spoke of his many obstacles in an industry, which on the surface, can appear glamorous and filled with “distinguished characters”, but like any big industry where people are eager to climb to the top, it can be cold, vicious and filled with lots of backstabbing.

“I followed a friend to Negril in 1982 where he was to do an interview for a job at a hotel. Miraculously and against all odds, I ended up doing an interview and getting a job which was to be my first foray into tourism,” Richard, then a computer supervisor and barely four years removed from high school, recalled.

“It also meant packing my bags and leaving my comfort zone in Kingston for a new life and I never looked back. It also brought me to Carol who I met two years later and who would be my backbone ever since. We would also bring a beautiful daughter –Samantha- into the world, who, has very much been a part of our incredible journey and who, in all probability, might well know this industry more than we do.”

Richard said that the only thing both he and Carol know is tourism, noting that “this is the industry that has given us everything…the one thing we can look back and say that this is where we got our start…as upstarts with basically nothing except our ambitious minds.”

The Amstar boss added that both he and Carol are however grateful for those who have paved the way “for people like us”, adding that they see themselves today as mentors “elder statesman and woman” who feels a sense of obligation in giving back and helping others to succeed.

Carol noted that  the COVID-19 pandemic, which has brought the tourism sector to a virtual standstill and which has seen many workers being displaced and facing a future of uncertainty, was the first challenge she has faced during all her years in the sector where “I simply have no answers.”

“What I am happy about though is that the industry is now speaking with one voice and people, in general, throughout the length and breadth of Jamaica, are having a better acceptance and appreciation for the sector as a whole.”

She also noted that their philanthropic approach over the years has given them a better understanding and appreciation for what persons are going through and their natural urge to do “all we can to assist.”

Richard added that tourism is the one industry that has consistently demonstrated a level of profitability and dependability and that “I am happy that the Government is doing all it can to give stakeholders the opportunity to make this work” and also to help the country recover from a pandemic “the likes of which the world has never seen before.”

“Let’s continue to make the resilient corridors work,” he added. “We are not saying that they are perfect but they are the closest thing we have that the sector can currently rely on.”