Tourism project looks to boost capacity and standards
By Johann Earle
Stabroek News
May 19, 2003
Guyana's ability to attract and cater to tourists has been augmented by a number of training packages organised by the Caribbean Regional Human Resource Development Programme for Economic Competitiveness (CPEC).
March 2002 marked the end of the first phase of training - The Tourism Human Resource Training and Capacity Building Project. Phase Two is in its implementation stage and is to be fully on stream shortly.
Executive Director of the Tourism and Hospitality Association of Guyana (THAG), Indira Anandjit, was trained in Best Practices in Tourism Association Management for the ecotourism industry through a two-week study programme held in Belize.
While there Anandjit met with officials of the Belize eco-tourism industry with a view to observing how that association is managed.
Anandjit said that a lot of what she had gone through dealt with policy issues. She made the point that the practices of THAG prior to the training were not that different and of a reputable standard.
She noted that there was a marked absence of standards in the tourism industry in Guyana, but indicated that a set of minimum requirements had been tailored by the Guyana National Bureau of Standards (GNBS). These standards were developed specifically for the accommodation sector with similar standards being developed for interior resorts and lodges. THAG will have a hand in developing further tourism standards with the GNBS.
Anandjit was impressed by what she termed the de-centralisation of the tourism association's activities in Belize, where different chapters of the association are established throughout the country.
She said in Jamaica participants looked at destination marketing, assessing what sort of advertising material to develop and what kind of clientele should be targeted. She found that Jamaica never stops advertising, in spite of what may be happening in the country.
Meanwhile she said THAG had selected areas with tourism potential and had consultations with the regional chairmen, who made selections for the workshops. These were held in Georgetown, Linden, Santa Mission, Bartica and the Corentyne.
As a result of such consultations, Santa Mission had become a full-fledged member of THAG last year March. Teri Ramnarain, General Manager of Wilderness Explorers, told Stabroek News that one of the first activities she encountered during her training was the putting together of a marketing strategy for Guyana's tourism product.
She called the marketing training "very good" and said that she had learned quite a lot about putting ideas together. Ramnarain had completed the course entitled 'Techniques in Destination Management-Marketing'.
Ramnarain has since delivered lectures at the University of Guyana and various high schools in Georgetown on the programmes executed by Wilderness Explorers. She said the government needed to regulate the tourism industry in terms of certification.
CPEC also intends to provide funding for the upgrading of the Carnegie School for Home Economics' curriculum through a subsequent project, as that institution is to become Guyana's hospitality institute. The Acting Principal, Norma Washington has already undergone training.
Fiona Holder of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) observed best practices in Environmental Management in Dominica. According to CPEC, she learnt how Dominica had succeeded in preserving its environmental stability as it emphasised ecotourism as a path to economic development.
According to the CPEC, twenty-five public servants and private sector officials participated in a three-day workshop on Tourism Policy Design, The Role of the Public and Private Sectors in the National Tourism Development Process, Public/ Private Sector Partnership and Strategic Alliances and Sectoral Strategies.
Another twenty persons from public and private sector agencies received training from tourism expert Dr. Dave Russell. Participants came from the Tourism and Hospitality Association (THAG), resorts, the Ministry of Tourism, Industry and Commerce and the Iwokrama International Centre for Rainforest Conservation and Development.
Twenty-five senior public servants and private sector officials in the travel and tourism industry were trained in Ecotourism Planning and Development, Techniques in Destination Management-Marketing, Transportation Considerations, Satellite Accounting and Tourism Information Management Systems. These were delivered during a three-day workshop.
As part of the effort to improve awareness in the tourism industry, CPEC sent a representative from the Carnegie School of Home Economics to be placed in the Barbados Hospitality Institute. Similarly, a representative of the Ministry of Tourism, Industry and Commerce was placed at the Caribbean Tourism Organisation in Barbados. Other Guyanese representatives from the EPA, the Ministry of Amerindian Affairs and the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport were placed in key public and private sector organisations around the Caribbean. All the participants were exposed to the prevailing standards at various destinations in the region.
At the end of the overseas postings, fifteen participants had a three-day round table discussion to share experiences and information.
