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Tourism Training

The Tourism program facilitates high level Tourism and Hospitality Education and Training to contribute to human resource development in the tourism sector, and have partnered with key institutions to develop and deliver internationally recognized training and certification programs through both virtual and on-site mechanisms, many of which are focused on meeting the needs of micro, small and medium tourism enterprises.

American Hotel & Lodging Association Educational Institute
In 2001-2002, the Office of Tourism collaborated with the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), the Culinary Institute of America and the American Hotel and Lodging Association- Educational Institute (AHLA-EI) to develop an adapted (Caribbeanized) set of food and beverage and room training and certification materials for small hotels in the Caribbean using the AHLA system. Courses are available in a number of line skills areas including Reservationist; Front Office Representative; Restaurant Server; Bar Tender; Kitchen Steward; Room Attendant; Custodian; and Banquet Server. As part of the Training of Trainers program certification is available for Certified Hospitality Department Trainers (CHDT) and Certified Hospitality Master Trainers (CHT). To date, over 300 persons have been trained as Certified Hospitality Department Trainers; approximately 30 persons trained as Certified Hospitality Master Trainers; and over 2,000 line level personnel have been trained and certified in a number of hotel service positions in the Caribbean Region.

Owner/Manager Training Program
The Office of Tourism developed the Owner/Manager Training Program for owners and managers of micro, small and medium enterprises in the tourism sector. Delivery of this program is an intensive workshop format covering various aspects of hotel and food and beverage management, from the perspective of the owner/manager. The course is comprised of two modules as follows: (i) Food and Beverage Management; and (ii) Business and Operations Management. Each module comes with a workbook and is accompanied by diskettes which can be utilized for various accounting scenarios including forecasting, calculating average daily rates, occupancy percentages and restaurant covers.  The program is very hands-on and each module may be delivered on its own so that restaurateurs have the benefit of doing the Food and Beverage component without sitting through the hotels program. While no exam is administered a certificate endorsed by the AHLA-EI is issued after successful completion of the built–in competencies. The Office of Tourism is currently exploring the possibility of a partnership with the International Institute of Tourism Studies at the George Washington University, to deliver the Training in an Internet-based distance learning format. For more information on the Owner/Manager Training Program please contact the OAS Office of Tourism directly.

Integral Tourism Strategies for Local Governments Course
The Integral Tourism Strategies Course will comprise an introduction to Integral Tourism Development for municipalities and local governments. The course targets public servants who perform administration, management and planning duties within their institutions and want to promote community development, placing emphasis on tourism resources. The course also targets local actors and service providers interested in having a shared vision of tourism development, who understand the importance of implementing joint strategies for developing the local tourism sector. Participants will be taught strategies for a more integrated and community focused approach to tourism development, including basic features of a sustainable municipal management strategy; understanding the role of the Municipality and the Community; exploring opportunities to be developed in partnership with private tourism investment; and recognizing location, as well as natural and cultural assets, to develop new tourism products.
Language of Instruction – Spanish.

The Latin American Network for the Development of Micro, Small, and Medium Tourism Enterprises (MIPYME)  
The Office of Tourism is currently coordinating the execution of the MIPYME Network which has as a critical component the establishment of a sustainable mechanism to respond to human resource capability needs. This initiative promotes the direct delivery of training programs in key areas such as: training and certification of trainers; institutionalization of training programs through collaboration with national and regional institutions; and collaboration with internationally recognized training and certification Agencies. Membership in this Network is free and open to anyone with an interest in the Tourism Industry in the OAS member states in Latin America.

The Educational Portal of the Americas
The OAS Educational Portal of the Americas was designed to assist the Member States with their domestic efforts in pursuit of integral development goals by supporting human resource development in the priority areas established by the Summits of the Americas, the Strategic Plan for Partnership for Integral Development of the Inter-American Council for Integral Development (CIDI), and the OAS General Assembly. The Portal serves as a virtual platform to foster and promote human development through education, and hosts information, tools and resources including:

- A Virtual classroom for distance learning classes and online training programs;

- Digital library of journals and monographs in digital format which represent many out-of-print and/or out-of-stock publications, with links to other digital libraries throughout the region;

- Information on OAS Academic scholarships and scholarships and programs for Professional Development;

- Information on Educational Loans for studies in the United States, through the Rowe Fund Student Loan Program which allows citizens from OAS Member States in Latin America and the Caribbean to finance their studies in US universities by awarding interest free loans;

- Links to accrediting institutions, reference materials and educational support; and

- Virtual universities and museums and the university consortia in the United States.

The Portal facilitates with overcoming several of the major obstacles for improving educational and skills building in the Americas, such as high costs, limited time and limited accessibility. The interactive, virtual environment allows users to participate in training and educational activities similar to what one would receive at a traditional academic institution.