The objective of CTO’s Human Resource Department is to broaden and strengthen the skills base and expertise of persons working at all levels in the Tourism sector, through technical assistance, training attachments and the development and delivery of training activities. We do this through cooperation with private and public sector institutions which are involved with tourism hospitality education and training in the region.
With our partners we are endeavoring to raise the quality of regional tourism education and training programmes and develop and promote a systematic and coordinated approach to Human Resource development for Caribbean Tourism.
The 10th Tourism Human Resources Conference will be held from October 30 – November 1, 2023 in Nevis under the theme: “Navigating the Next Phase of Caribbean Tourism”. Under this theme, we will focus on ‘Talent and Technology – 2024 and beyond’ and will provide insights on how human resource development can be optimally leveraged to support the growth, development, innovation and competitiveness of the Caribbean tourism sector.
View conference details: https://www.onecaribbean.org/events-calendar/tourism-hr-conference-2023/
Human Resources Technical Committee
The HR Technical Committee, comprised of senior representatives from business, labour, government, industry associations and education and tourism related organizations/groups, meet twice annually to address the Caribbean’s tourism education, training and career development needs and to give direction to the department’s programmes and activities.
Caribbean Tourism Institute
The CTO has partnered with the Canadian firm Velsoft Training Materials Inc. for the development, promotion and offer of tourism and hospitality eLearning courses/programmes and educational technologies through an online platform called the Caribbean Tourism Institute.
The site features the English versions of the two sustainable tourism online courses: The Multi-Hazard Risk Management Guide for the Caribbean Tourism Sector and the Caribbean Sustainable Tourism Policy and Development Framework.
It also features self-paced courses in areas related to Digital Education and Digital Marketing, Training and Facilitation, Human Resources, Service, Professional Development and Business.
CTO Scholarship Foundation
The CTO Foundation which provides opportunities for Caribbean nationals to pursue studies in the areas of tourism, hospitality and language training, selects individuals who demonstrate high levels of achievement and leadership both within and outside the classroom and who express a strong interest in making a positive contribution to Caribbean tourism…. Read more
Hospitality Assured
Hospitality Assured (HA) is a programme that recognises excellence in the service environment, which means meeting the expectations of a range of customers on a consistent and regular basis.
The Hospitality Assured framework helps organizations understand customers expectations; plan the service delivery; communicate the natu re and rationale of the service; ensure adequate skills and resources are available; instigate a process of improvement which becomes part of operations and is self-perpetuating.
Visit the Hospitality Assured website for more information: http://hospitalityassuredcaribbean.com/
Visit the Hospitality Assured E-Resources Centre: http://www.onecaribbean.org/our-work/human-resource-development/ha-e-resources-centre/
Tourism Youth Congress
The Tourism Youth Congress is normally held during the Caribbean Tourism Organization’s State of the Industry Conference annually. Students between the ages of 14 and 17 from CTO member countries are invited to participate in the Congress. The person from the winning debating team, who is selected to represent his/her country at the CTO’s Tourism Youth Congress, will be given the title of Junior Minister/Commissioner of Tourism. This title will be held for one (1) year until a new Junior Minister/Commissioner of Tourism is selected in the following year at the conclusion of the inter-school debates in that year.
Each country provides the necessary funding to cover the cost of airfares, hotel accommodation and meals for two (2) persons (the Junior Minister/Commissioner of Tourism and a chaperone).
The Youth Congress is structured to mirror a CTO Board of Directors’ Meeting with an agenda and topics on salient tourism issues which participants have to research beforehand. The students must come prepared to discuss one topic. A “mystery” question will also be asked and each student will be expected to give a response. Other educational tours and activities are organized for the students and chaperones e.g. attendance at various conference sessions, visits to various tourism sites and attractions. Attractive prizes are provided for the winner and runners-up. The Junior Ministers/Commissioners of Tourism are expected to put forward their own views and the views of their country on the various topics to be discussed. It is not a debating competition, it is a discussion among the Junior Ministers/Commissioners which generates practical ideas that can be implemented at the national/regional levels.
Tourism Human Resource Conference Papers
Proceedings from CTO Tourism Human Resources conferences and other HR development workshops are available in the conference papers section.
CTO Human Resource Publications
These include training modules and guides, workbooks and worksheet on subjects ranging from customer relations and supervisory management to managing sites and attractions. There are also CDs and children’s tourism magazines.
View list of HR publications on the CTO Publications page.
Open Textbook Library
As an instructor, you want your students to have the best textbooks possible. Unfortunately, not all students can afford the high cost of traditional textbooks.
You can change that!
You can ensure that ALL of your students will have access to your course textbook content. In addition, you can edit the textbooks to fit your courses and best meet the needs of your students. Open textbooks are real, complete textbooks licensed so teachers and students can freely use, adapt, and distribute the material. Open textbooks can be downloaded for no cost, or printed inexpensively.
This library is a tool to help instructors find affordable, quality textbook solutions. All textbooks in this library are complete and openly licensed. Go to Open TextBook Library.