JITOA “Destination Management Certificate” Program offered to boost the expertise of Jordan Tourism Professionals

28 January 2010
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Jordan Destination Management Certification ProgramThe Jordan Inbound Tour Operators Association (JITOA) in cooperation with the International Institute of Tourism Studies at the George Washington University (GWU) and under the USAID / Jordan Tourism Development Project II, conducted special certification program for tourism professionals in Jordan for two weeks during January 2010, titled “Destination Management Certificate (DMC)” Program.

This program aims to increase the professionalism within the destination management industry in Jordan by establishing a level of knowledge and performance necessary for certification; recognizing and raising industry standards and practices; and maximizing the value of the products and services that certified destination management professionals can provide.

Destination Management courses are designed for tourism destination managers & marketers, hotel developers, tour operators, business owners, government officials and others concerned with enhancing the long-term sustainability and competitiveness of tourism destinations. Through the use of expert analysis, tools, best practices, benchmarks and case studies. Emphasis in this program would be placed on minimizing the negative impacts of tourism and preserving cultural and natural resources, while optimizing tourism’s overall contribution to economic development in host communities.

One of JITOA’s main pillars is Tourism Sector Human Resources Capacity Building, through providing professional training and certification programs. The importance of these programs revolves in supporting and developing company’s personnel, to help improve tourism services in Jordan, and raise the standards of services while enhancing the tourist experience.

The DMC course series will serve as a means to showcase the Tourism Training programs offered through JITOA as well as a forum to train potential trainers for future delivery of the GWU program in Jordan. Each student completing the courses will receive a certificate from GWU. Courses include six different topics; Tourism Destination Policy & Planning, Tourism Marketing and Branding, Ecotourism, protected Area and Community Development, E-Marketing and Internet Applications, Customer Service for Tourism Organizations, Community-based Tourism.

Mr. Nizar Al Adarbeh, JITOA CEO said “this program focuses on competitive positioning of Jordan as a major tourist destination and helps us in our commitment to raise sustainable development principles and practices of the Jordan Tourism Sector, and relatively optimizing tourism’s overall contribution to economic development”.

The course conducted by 4 professional trainers of the GWU; Dr. Donald Hawkins, Randall Durband, Dr. Philippe Duverger, and Dr. Crist Inman, and concluded on the 24th January 2010.

It’s worth mentioning that JITOA have had a very successful partnership with The George Washington University (GWU), and offered several professional certification programs during the past years, of which are the Event Management Program (EMP) Certificate and the DMC late 2004. Till today JITOA has shown a remarkable success through its diverse training courses for professional business skills development, such as, English for Tourism and Hotels and Business Writing skills and many more.

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