The United Nations agency responsible for the promotion of responsible, sustainable tourism is partnering with the Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO) to deliver a regional workshop on sustainable destination management and marketing next month.
The 5-9 December workshop, which takes place in Saint Lucia, is being delivered by experts selected by the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) and will explore issues related to competitiveness, quality assurance and sustainable destination criteria, with a strong emphasis on trends, best practices and success stories aimed at helping destinations compete globally, according to Bonita Morgan, the CTO’s director of resource mobilization and development.
“We have the advantage of having the UNWTO bring to us expertise with international experiences, models and success stories as we expose the participants to what the possibilities are out there to help them develop a better product, or deliver a better service so their overall strategy for destination management and marketing can be successful,” Mrs. Morgan said.
Among the key areas being explored are innovation in marketing, destination competitiveness, developing sustainable tourism experiences and successful models in destination management and marketing.
The first day is being billed as a forum and will be open to a broad spectrum of stakeholders in Saint Lucia so that they can benefit from the experiences and expertise of the UNWTO facilitators, as well as allowing as many residents as possible to share their views and experiences with a local and region audience. Topics to be covered will include global and regional tourism performance and trends, consumer trends and effective marketing and pillars of sustainable and competitive destinations.
A number of site visits have been included in the programme, during which participants will use the information they garnered to critique the local destinations and use the experience to help enhance their own products and tourism services.
The executive training workshop organized by the CTO and the UNWTO through its Themis Foundation, is being held in collaboration with the Saint Lucia Tourist Board. It is open to high-level decision makers in the national, regional and local tourism administrations and organizations, as well as senior tourism practitioners from tourism associations and industry groups and travel and tourism practitioners from the Caribbean and the Americas.
For further information, including how to register and participate, visit www.onecaribbean.org or email msealy@caribtourism.com. For further insights regarding the forum and workshop please view a video interview with Mrs. Morgan at: http://bit.ly/2eQHM2W.
