Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands (April 26, 2010) –  Twenty three (23) primary and secondary level teachers from public and private schools across the Cayman Islands received intensive tourism training during a recently held three day workshop organized by the Department of Tourism(DoT). The training, which was provided by Ms. Bonita Morgan, Director of Human Resources at the Caribbean Tourism Organisation (CTO), and funded by the Department of Tourism, enabled participants to learn about sustainable tourism, forces impacting the industry, customer service excellence, human resource development and strategies for teaching tourism in the Cayman Islands. 

The DoT previously partnered with the Department of Education and CTO in 2002 and 2006 respectively to deliver special in-service training on tourism concepts, instructional methods and skills to help teachers better inform their students about possible careers in tourism. This year, the scope was broadened to not only include teachers working in the area of social studies, but also International Baccalaureate Coordinators and those teaching other subject areas such as Language Arts and History. 

“This teacher training programme is an important initiative,” said Oneisha Richards, Deputy Director, Tourism Product Development for DoT, “and we are pleased that we are able to offer it again. The Department of Tourism recognizes that our human capital development must begin within the school system, and we believe that our educators, who are shaping the lives of future tourism stakeholders, must be embraced as an integral part of the process.”

In addition to theoretical learning, the teachers also had an opportunity to walk through the streets of central George Town and participate in a field trip to Pedro St. James Castle, the Mission House in Bodden Town, the Queen Elizabeth II Botanic Park and the Blue Iguana Recovery Programme.

“The DoT continues to explore innovative ways of educating both the student population and the wider community about the history of tourism in the Cayman Islands,” Ms. Richards continued. “The in-depth tours that the teachers participated in will allow them to incorporate their personal experiences with the information they received about our history, heritage and culture and convey that learning to their students within the classroom setting. The DoT is most grateful to all of the School Principals who supported the programme by allowing their educators to attend, and we particularly thank Ms. Bonita Morgan of the Caribbean Tourism Organisation for facilitating the workshop.”