Tourism Education and Training Phnom Penh, Cambodia 24 April 2012 Presentation by: Dr. H. Varma Director, Technical Cooperation and Services UNWTO

International Tourism Arrivals: Past Trends and Future Perspectives mn mn mn

Did you know…? Tourism directly represents 5% of global GDP Tourism is responsible for over 235 million jobs (1 in 12 jobs worldwide) Tourism is the fourth largest export sector in the world after fuels, chemicals and automotive products, generating USD 1 trillion a year in exports In 2011, there were 980 million international tourists worldwide In 2012, it is expected to achieve the 1 billion mark of international tourist arrivals

2011 International Tourist Arrival Trends 2011 Europe: 503 million Asia-Pacific: 216 million Americas: 156 million Middle East: 55 million Africa: 50 million

Cambodia Tourism Trends

Importance of Professional Tourism Education and Training Quality assurance: -important for consumers (especially repeat visitors) on the quality of services to be received -provide a guiding framework to service providers for the maintenance of standards -serve as a catalyst for tour operators to sell tourism facilities and services Country image and brand: -quality tourism facilities and services provide the cutting edge in this extremely competitive global industry This is the age of quality, competitiveness and sustainability. Professional tourism education and training provide the guarantee.

Need for quality control To deliver value-added services and products To enhance customer loyalty and satisfaction To raise the levels of demand locally, nationally and regionally To promote competitiveness within the industry To ensure uniform quality standards for tourists and the travel industry alike To strengthen tourism education and training institutions to deliver trained manpower of the category and quality required

Manpower Planning Build up highly qualified and well trained human resources in the public and private sectors to develop, manage and serve the industry in a competitive manner in accordance with international standards Important to keep pace with market trends: -what are the source markets and sub-sectors within these source markets? -where do tourists travel to within Cambodia? -what activities do they engage in? -what is their average tourism spend? -what are the future projections for growth?

Manpower Planning Tourism training needs analysis: -is the industry equipped to meet the current and future needs of tourists both in terms of services and facilities? -what are the needs for specialised tourism services? (cultural tourism in Siem Reap, beach tourism/aquatic sports in Sihanoukhville)

What is Education? What is Training? Education is the means through which the aims and habits of a group of people lives on from one generation to the next. Generally, it occurs through any experience that has a formative effect on the way one thinks, feels, or acts. In its narrow, technical sense, education is the formal process by which society deliberately transmits its accumulated knowledge, skills, customs and values from one generation to another, e.g., instruction in schools. It is the wealth of knowledge acquired by an individual after studying particular subject matters or experiencing life lessons that provide an understanding of something. Training is an organized activity aimed at imparting information and/or instructions to improve the recipient’s performance or to help him or her attain a required level of knowledge or skill.

Demarcation of Education and Training Tourism education: -tourism policy and planning -tourism service management and operations -tourism legislation and regulation -tourism monitoring and control Tourism training: -skills development at all levels -hands-on, practical and service- oriented to meet direct needs of tourists

Decentralisation of Cambodia’s Tourism Education and Training Taking into account the Government’s policy for product diversification and geographical spread of tourism, there is a need to decentralise tourism education facilities throughout the country. A comprehensive regional tourism education and training strategy needs to be put in place (uniform curricula and training programmes) This facilitates the ability of local people in rural areas to access entry into the tourism job market The local tourism education and training institutes can provide general capacity building in tour guiding (with specialization in local resources and products), catering and accommodation

Train-the-Trainers To ensure the sustainability of tourism education and training, especially with a view to establishing regional and local tourism training centres, establish a revolving programme of train-the- trainers in various aspects of tourism management and skills development This would ensure availability of trainers at the local level, thus bringing down the training costs

Public-Private Partnership Tourism is government-led and private sector-driven Private sector is the end beneficiary and main user of the trainees Therefore, private sector needs to come forward and lend support to tourism education and training programmes by: -informing Government of levels of skills required so that curricula will meet needs of industry -offer facilities for in-house training -offer job placement services to tourism education and training facilities

Thank you! Dr. Harsh Varma Director Tecnical Cooperation and Services Visit us at unwto.org