About 1,300 managers and supervisors working in the tourism sector will be able to obtain certification within two years under a new €3 million training programme run by the Malta Tourism Authority
The Advance, Training Tourism Leaders programme is funded by the government and the European Social Fund. Some 200 of those taking part will also be spending a week overseas with a foreign tourism company in the UK, Ireland or France.
At the programme’s launch, Tourism Parliamentary Secretary Mario de Marco said competitiveness in tourism was strengthened through human resources, in other words people’s abilities needed to be continuously renewed according to market needs.
Malta, he said, had experienced changes in the tourism sector over the past few years, with growth in markets other than the staple British one, such as in the Italian, French, Spanish and Scandinavian markets. This was due to an increase in the number of routes serving the country, which now stood at 76 destinations.
Dr de Marco also highlighted the importance of lifelong learning in order for the tourism sector to adapt to technological, international and ever-changing environments.