By Claudia Gardner, Gleaner Writer HANOVER:
TWENTY-FOUR young adults graduated in the Negril Chamber of Commerce's fourth training course in Community Tourism and Environmental Awareness, in Lucea, Hanover, on Thursday.
The course was financed from funds granted by the Caribbean Regional Human Resource Development Programme for Economic Competitiveness (CPEC), and was conducted by the Mandeville-based Countrystyle Community Tourism Network.
According to executive director of the Negril Chamber, Jean Jackson, the chamber had submitted a proposal to CPEC to fund nine training projects to improve the quality of life for persons living in the parishes of Hanover and Westmoreland.
"The course was run with the intention of increasing tourism and environmental awareness of persons within the parishes, and targeted 100 persons from Hanover and another 100 from neighbouring Westmoreland," Mrs Jackson said.
"The classes on this course included information on the history of Jamaica, culture, geography, historical sites, and places of interest in Hanover and the surrounding parishes."
PARTICIPANTS
The participants were mobilised by the Social Development Commission office in Lucea. Last year, some 48 persons were similarly trained in Eastern Hanover in November.
Other courses which have been run by the Negril Chamber include information technology, which was delivered to 20 managers and 20 employees in small and medium-sized hotels and attractions; language training in conversational Spanish and German; hospitality management; occupational and international standards; food and beverage preparation; front office skills and housekeeping; community tourism and tour guiding; and strategic business planning.
While stressing that community tourism was the way forward for national development, course trainer Diana McIntyre-Pike of Countrystyle Community Tourism Network said that it was imperative that communities understand the importance of preparing their communities to welcome visitors. She said that community tourism could be the catalyst for encouraging the broader industry to be ecologically sustainable while setting the standards for the rest of the industry to follow.
