ST. LUCIA will host a five-day regional workshop on sustainable destination management and marketing next month, the Barbados-based Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO) has announced.
It said it is partnering with the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), the United Nations agency responsible for the promotion of responsible, sustainable tourism, in organising the December 5-9 event.
CTO said that the conference 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.
“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,” said Bonita Morgan, CTO’s director of resource mobilization and development.
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 of the workshop is being billed as a forum and will be open to a broad spectrum of stakeholders in St. 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 regional 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 St. Lucia Tourist Board.