Forty six (46) tourism operators and landowners in Marau, East Gaudalcanala re currently undergoing a three days tourism training which kicked off yesterday.
One of the highlights of the training is to teach the operators to be polite when welcoming their guests upon their arrival.
Laurie Leketo,Senior Research Tourism Officer within the Ministry of Culture and Tourism (MCT) highlighted this during the official opening of the training yesterday.
The participants are undergoing a training which focused on basic hospitality.
The training is being funded by the Ministry.
Mr Leketo said many operators in the country lacks the basic skills to greet and welcome their guests upon their arrival.
“This is one of the big setbacks why tourists refuse to visit our shores because the hospitality we offer to them is not that welcoming.
“Therefore we (operators) must treat our guests fairly and always give them good smiles and talk politely to them so that our guests can feel at home rather than being left isolated,” Mr Leketo said.
He also pointed out that operators must also work with their communities to ensure members of the communities can respect the visitors while visiting.
“Sometimes operators distance themselves from the community when our guests are visiting our shore and that’s not right.”
Mr Leketo thanked Marau operators for being part of the training.
By DENVER NEWTER
