BANGKOK, August 20, 2014 — The Asian Development Bank (ADB) in partnership with the Guilin Institute of Tourism (GIT) and the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) are delighted to invite travel industry professionals to attend the ADB-Phnom Penh Plan (PPP) for Development Management Learning Programme on “Tourism Management in the Greater Mekong Subregion.”
The five-day training programme will be held on October 13-17, 2014 at GIT in Guilin, Guangxi, China. Guilin is China’s most picturesque region and has long been one of the world’s most famous travel destinations.
The learning programme aims to demonstrate to participating GMS middle level civil servants how to strengthen their competencies to develop and implement functional and strategic tourism interventions (policies, programs, and projects). It aims to develop participants’ abilities to analyse tourism issues and their implications for value chain analysis; provide best practices and failure case studies in tourism planning and management for poverty alleviation; and broaden appreciation of participants in tourism planning and management, project design and implementation, community-based tourism, designing pro-poor interventions, and using technology in tourism marketing and knowledge dissemination.
Towards the end of the programme, participants will negotiate a deal to develop a rural tourism project by applying the new knowledge derived from the presentations and materials delivered during the prior sessions of the programme.
In an effort to continuously improve the PPP and to ensure application of learning in the work place, the programme is targeting a mixed group of 24 participants comprising GMS National Tourism Office (NTO) counterparts, members of the GMS Tourism Working Group (TWG), and open applications for industry professionals.
Mr Alfredo Perdiguero, Principal Regional Cooperation Specialist, ADB said, “The ADB-PPP Learning Programme has had many notable achievements. Since its inception, 2,458 GMS civil servants have attended 121 programmes. This year, we are delighted to welcome industry professionals from the PATA network to join our programme.”
Mr Martin J Craigs, CEO, PATA added, “This is the first time ADB is welcoming participants from outside the GMS destinations to join this one-week training programme. This is an opportune time for industry professionals to learn and gain practical experiences from a team of experts and to network with government officials from the GMS destinations. I would like to encourage everyone within the PATA network to spend one fruitful week in Guilin.”
Mr Yang Jie, President, GIT said, “On behalf of the Guilin Institute of Tourism, I am honored to extend our warmest welcome to all of the participants, and would like to congratulate each if you for making the right decision in joining this workshop. You are specialists with broad experiences and theoretical knowledge of the tourism industry, therefore your participation provides a great opportunity for GIT to learn from your experiences. In the meantime I hope that during your stay in Guilin you can travel around the city and give us your valuable advice on the future of the tourism industry for this glamorous city.”
The programme will include the following themes, topics, and activity:
Public private partnerships in community-based tourism
Value chain analysis and interventions including importance of mainstreaming
Technology in tourism marketing and knowledge dissemination, and
GMS regional cooperation in tourism
Field visits to Long Ji Rice Terrace, Pingan and Miao Village
To view more information on the programme, click here.
The learning programme will be taught by a team of experts who have extensive knowledge and experience in tourism policy, planning and management. They will be drawn from a pool of educators, civil servants and practitioners in tourism management, training and consultancy as well as staff of the Asian Development Bank. The team includes Dr. Trevor Sofield, Professor of Tourism, University of Tasmania; Dr. Li Fung Mei Sarah, Independent Consultant Specialising in China Tourism Development, Policy, and Planning; Mr Alfredo Perdiguero, Principal Regional Cooperation Specialist, ADB; Mr Steven Schipani, Senior Social Sector Specialist, ADB; and Mr George Cao, Dragon Trail Interactive, China.
The programme will be conducted using a combination of learning methods — lectures, case studies, field visits, group discussions, and problem solving and simulation exercises. Participants will be organised into learning groups to facilitate participatory learning and emphasise practitioner orientation and action learning.
Registration fee is US$1,888 for PATA members, US$2,100 for Chapter Members and US$2,400 for non-members. The fee will cover all expenses associated with participation in this programme including tuition, programme materials, activities, site visits, airport/hotel transfer in Guilin, and lunches/dinners listed in the official programme. The fee will exclude air ticket, hotel accommodation and a few dinners.
For further information, please visit http://www.pata.org/events/adb-ppp-tourism-management-in-the-gms-learning-programme. To register, please contact Parita Niemwongse at HCD@PATA.org.
