2021 TOURISM TRAINING PROGRAMME ENDS WITH TOUR GUIDE TRAINING

The Montserrat Tourism Division, Office of the Premier, ended its 2021 tourism stakeholder training programme with a one-week

workshop that focused on tour guiding, tour and taxi operations.

The course, which ran from October 25 to November 2, was facilitated by Ms Kathryn Mc

Connie from Tours Incredible which is based in Trinidad & Tobago.

Director of Tourism, Warren Solomon, noted: “This training could not have come at a more

opportune time, with our borders going through the second phase of its re-opening. One of

our objectives in making these training opportunities available to our stakeholders was to

ensure that no one lost their edge during the period of inactivity when our borders were

closed.”

A total of 24 tour guides, tour operators and taxi drivers participated in the workshop, which

took on a hybrid format. The first two days consisted of classroom instruction done

remotely, while Ms Mc Connie was in quarantine as required by Montserrat’s COVID-19

protocols. The remaining days were a combination of classroom and practical sessions,

where participants were assessed as they conducted tours around the island.

“The programme was very well-received and participants have adopted a more

professional approach in discharging their duties,” stated Rosetta West-Gerald, Product

Development Officer at the Tourism Division. She continued, “Many are quite keen to put

into practice what they would have learnt over the past 8 days and we are also

encouraging them to offer.

tours to the local community and to those nationals returning home who may have lost

touch with Montserrat over the years. This would certainly enable them to sharpen their

skills and continually improve their service delivery.”

Ms. Mc Connie is a Certified Hospitality Educator with the American Hotel & Lodging

Educational Institute and the founding member of the Trinidad & Tobago Tour Guides

Association. She is one of just three tour guides from the region that are members of the

prestigious World Federation of Tourist Guide Associations.

One of her greatest achievements is the publishing of her own text for tour guide training,

“The Cicerone – Presentation Skills & Professional Guiding Techniques”, now in its 8th

edition of printing.

Ms. Mc Connie has been in the hospitality and tourism industry for more than 30 years. In

1993, she made a significant contribution to the Tour Guiding profession though the

development of the very first properly structured Professional Tour Guiding Course, which

was culturally appropriate for the region. In 1996, she collaborated with the Trinidad &

Tobago Hospitality & Tourism Institute (TTHTI) to ensure that tour guides were assessed

and certified by a recognized institution which eventually became ISO certified and

accredited by the Accreditation Council of Trinidad and Tobago (ACTT).