The Creative Tourism Network® had the honor to drive Creative Tourism Capacity-building and Training Workshops in the Caribbean destination of Granada (February 25th to 28th), within the framework of the five-year Transcultura program’: Integrating Cuba, the Caribbean, and the European Union through Culture and Creativity’, implemented by the UNESCO Regional Office in Havana with the financial support of the European Union.
This Training Workshop – as well as a second one to be held in St. Vincent & The Grenadines (March 17-21st) aims to empower young cultural professionals and tourism entrepreneurs from the Caribbean, to transform creative assets into impactful tourism experiences that benefit both visitors and local communities.
Over thirty young stakeholders from 14 Caribbean countries had the opportunity to learn further about creative tourism and to co-create new sustainable and appealing experiences and strategies, to diversify the Caribbean tourist offer, toward a more creative and regenerative one.
According to Ms. Anne Lemaistre, Director of the UNESCO Regional Office in Cuba and Representative for ‘Creative tourism goes beyond cultural tourism linked to heritage to include all cultural and creative industries, creating experiences for travelers and offering professional opportunities for young people.’
For Narendra Ramgulam, sustainable tourism consultant for the Caribbean Tourism Organization, who delivered a keynote during the opening session, ‘such a program is key to turn the cultural diversity of the Caribbean Islands into new sustainable tourism strategies.’
Petra Roach, Chief Executive Officer of the Grenada Tourism Authority, emphasized: “Our true competitive advantage lies in our unique cultural narratives. This Transcultura workshop is essential to develop and implement this potential. Knowledge without implementation is wasted potential.”
Kisha Gellineau, Secretary-General of the Grenada National Commission for UNESCO, highlighted: “We are grateful for the European Union’s commitment and UNESCO’s dedication to creating this opportunity to advance the sustainability of creative tourism in the Caribbean.”
The director of the Creative Tourism Network®, Caroline Couret, who is driving both seminars and will provide mentoring to the Caribbean stakeholders, also congratulated the UNESCO team for the relevance and excellence of such a project that contributes to (re) creating sustainable ecosystems based on the local traditions and talents.
A second workshop will be held in St Vincent and the Grenadines (March 18th-21), focused on creative tourism marketing strategies.
Both will be followed by a processor individual mentoring and the creation of the Caribbean Creative Tourism Awards.
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UNESCO and the European Union Promote Training in Creative Tourism in the Caribbean
