The Guyana Tourism Authority (GTA) has executed its third round of Delivering Quality Service Training to 15 staff members of the Splashmin’s Resort. This training, facilitated by Marlon George, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Guyana Solutions Pro and Chetnauth Persaud, Training and Tourism Development Officer at GTA, was held within the Conference Room at Splashmin’s Resort with all COVID-19 protocols observed.

Customer service remains an integral part of the positive reception of the tourism and hospitality industry.

“Now more than ever as we are working towards rebuilding after the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, satisfying the demands of the customer is critical for the successful reopening of our industry. As such, the GTA as part of its commitment to continuously improve both the local and international traveller experience, will continue to deliver these specially designed training sessions to key members of the tourism and hospitality sector,” a release said.

Guided by the Caribbean Tourism Organisation’s (CTO) Delivering Quality Service curriculum and the GTA’s Hygiene and Sanitation Protocols, participants were guided through key areas such as Understanding the Customer and Defining Customer Service Excellence.

These areas will contribute to the airport staff’s knowledge and understanding of the importance of proper etiquette and hospitality techniques for visitor welcome. To date, 616 persons have been trained in the various tourism-related, capacity-building programmes for 2021.

These include Hygiene and Sanitation Training with 314 participants in total (116 males and 198 females); First Aid and CPR training with 128 participants in total (63 males and 65 females); Delivering Quality Service Training with 101 participants in total (29 males and 72 females); Boat Captain Training with 33 participants in total (33 males); Culinary Training with 22 participants in total (two males and 20 females); Restaurant and Bar Inspection Training with 10 participants in total (10 females); and Adult Learning Training with eight participants, in total ( three males and five females).

The GTA through its training division is set to provide additional training opportunities to the sector throughout the remainder of the year in Hygiene and Sanitation, Tour Guiding, Events Management and Delivering Quality Service.

Internally, the training division is currently working on developing its capacity in the areas of Hospitality Management, Adult Learning Techniques and Advanced Food Safety in collaboration with the Canadian Executive Services Organisation (CESO).

“For more information on the GTA’s training initiatives contact Mr Chetnauth Persaud, Training and Tourism Development Officer, at chetnauth@guyanatourism.com or Ms Tamika Inglis, Manager of Training and Licensing, at tamika@guyanatourism.com in the Travel Industry Development Division (TIDD) or call +(592) 219 0055,” the release concluded.