GTA continues Community Development & Training Outreaches in Wakapau & St. Cuthbert’s Mission

On  June  9  –  12, 2021 the Guyana Tourism Authority (GTA) executed its first (1st) round of Delivering Quality Service Training to fifteen (15) participants of the village of Wakapau, Region 2.

Led by Shellon Nicholas, the Tourism Marketing Officer within the GTA, this session sought to highlight the need for an above-average level of customer service needed in Indigenous communities that are tied to the tourism value chain.

Participants were enlightened on the importance of tourism in Guyana, understanding the customer,  defining  customer service excellence as well as the 10 principles of delivering quality service. Most importantly, cultural barriers and how it affects communication within the tourism industry was also addressed.

Additionally, the GTA executed a governance outreach, part 1 of 6 of the Community Led and Owned Tourism (CLOT) Framework to develop new community tourism enterprises, and tour guide training at St. Cuthbert’s Mission during the period June 9 – 13, 2021. During this outreach, the team, in collaboration with the St. Cuthbert’s Village Council was able to facilitate the formation of an interim Tourism Committee. This committee will work with the village council and GTA to catalyse tourism development in the community.

With a limited number of tour guides currently operating in the community, the GTA provided this training opportunity to those persons interested in developing their skills. Led by licensed tour guide, Kenneth Butler, 19 participants from the village were trained in key areas of tour guiding which covers the Adventure Travel Guide’s Core Responsibilities (sustainability, safety, quality and meaning as well as a Complete Guide to Adventure Travel Guiding  Core  Competencies  (technical  competency,  wilderness  medicine  &  first  aid, customer  service  and group management skills, natural & cultural history interpretation through storytelling).

Being able to provide excellent customer service, and cater to the needs of travellers is key to customer  satisfaction  and  a  culture  of  service excellence must permeate throughout the tourism  service  providers  in  Guyana.  As  such,  the  GTA  will  continue  to  provide  these training opportunities to the tourism and hospitality sector and work with communities to define their tourism products and streamline their operational and administrative systems.

For  more  information  on  the  GTA’s  product  development  initiatives  contact  Candace Phillips, Manager of Product Development, within the Travel Industry Development Division (TIDD) at  candace@guyanatourism.com or call +(592) 219 0055.