Tokelau Completes the SPTO Tourism SME TrainingTokelau small business operators were recently part of a 4-week virtual Tourism SME Recovery training of trainers program from July 22nd to August 22 August organized by the Pacific Tourism Organisation (SPTO). Thirty-six participants from 10 Pacific Island Countries included representatives from National Tourism Organisations, local training providers, and private sector representatives from tourism private sector associations and tourism SME owners.
The SPTO Tourism SME Recovery Training was to refresh ideas and to assist member countries’ SMEs in their tourism industries’ recovery post-COVID-19 pandemic and look towards the future.
The objective of the customized training was aimed to promote the uptake of the Toolkit across the region. The training adopted a Training of the Trainers (ToT) approach, focusing on local training providers at the country level as well as tourism SME support organizations who can facilitate training for the industry as needed.
So in support of a resilient and inclusive recovery process in the tourism sector, the ‘SPTO SME Recovery Toolkit’, was developed through a collaboration between the SPTO, the US Embassy, and the Travel Foundation. The toolkit was designed with the guidance and input of the Regional Working Group from the five countries of Fiji, Kiribati, Nauru, Tonga, and Tuvalu.
The toolkit was designed to provide practical guidance to experience providers, helping to improve operational models and successfully connect to key tourism source markets. Following its launch in October 2021, a training program to support the roll-out of the toolkit was requested by SPTO Member Countries.
Launched in 2021 through a collaboration between the SPTO, the Embassy of the United States of America, and the Travel Foundation, the online training is based on seven modules of the SPTO SME Recovery Toolkit from: Understanding the evolving market trends; To how to design and adapt products; Ensuring the health, safety, and security for your products; Pricing techniques; access to market and getting ready for business; Knowing good customer service; and online sales and marketing.
Each module had a set of assignments that each participant had to complete to progress to the next module. Funding support for the training was through the Technical Cooperation and Capacity Building Facility (TECCBUF) funded by the European Union, and organized by the Pacific Island Forum Secretariat (PIFS).
