CTO Announces Gurus Training Course at WTM 2013

The Caribbean Tourism Organization has today launched a new training course to help agents become Caribbean Travel Gurus. The CTO has launched its first online training program having previously offered a paper-based equivalent.

Speaking to Travel Weekly about the new website, which has been created with Travel Uni, Lorraine Grant, project manager at the CTO, said it was the perfect time for agents to either find out all about the region or simply to reacquaint themselves with what it offers.

"We used to do the course on a Filofax system and agents would work through their folders to complete it and learn about the Caribbean.

"More recently, a lot of our partners have gone online and we thought it was time to create a platform where agents can find out everything they need to know in one place. It's all about getting them to become Travel Gurus and help boost their Caribbean knowledge.

"It will act as a central resource for agents where they can find out all the latest news and information in one place.

"There will be modules on the area as a whole but also areas on the destinations and then links to our members and their individual training courses, if they have one.

"It's a great way to learn about the whole area and not just one place.

A reward scheme is to be introduced for agents who enroll onto the course and complete the modules. Grant said the online portal would also inform agents of fam trips and incentives. The course includes three CTO modules: Essential Information; Special Interests; and Basic Destination Knowledge.

CTO members currently participating in the program will also have a platform to either include information or to link to their unique training programs. Members currently involved include: Caribbean Airlines; Carnival Cruise Line; AM Resorts; Biras Creek Resort; Oil Nut Bay; Ottley's Plantation Inn; Sandals Resorts; The Reef Hotel and Club; True Blue Bay Boutique Resort and Windjammer Landing.

The destination members currently involved are: British Virgin Islands; Grenada; Jamaica; Saint Lucia; and Nassau Paradise Island.

Source: Travel Weekly