Consultation Meeting on the Development of Curricula for Sustainable Tourism
Kingston, 1-2 September 1998

Introduction

The Caribbean Environment Programme of UNEP, through its Regional Co-ordinating Unit, CAR/RCU, is implementing the Caribbean Environmental Network- CEN Project. The CEN Project is a new, but integral component of the sub-programme of CEP on Specially Protected Areas and Wildlife (SPAW) and is a joint venture with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) in Jamaica. It is the goal of the CEN Project to improve environmental quality and coastal and marine natural resource protection in the Wider Caribbean Region, by promoting the use of environmentally sound practices by the tourism industry and reducing environmental impacts by tourism on coastal and marine resources

As a means of achieving the above goal, a Training Programme related to environmental aspects of tourism in the marine environment was developed for implementation during the Project as one of its main components. The overall objective of the Training Programme is to assist in the development of institutional capacity in the region on coastal resources and ecosystem management related to the tourism industry. A total of seven training courses in three thematic areas: Water and Solid Waste Management for the Tourism Industry, Integrated Coastal Area Management and Tourism and Siting and Design of Tourist Facilities, have been successfully completed in 1998. Over 100 professionals from the English, French and Spanish Caribbean participated and contributed experiences on these topics. As a result, the CEP is supporting the production of Training Manuals in each of the above themes that will incorporate the information and materials delivered at the courses. It is hoped that the Manuals will serve as tools for the replication of such courses by any institution or individuals actively involved in tourism.

During the implementation of the above Training Programme, it has come to the attention of UNEP and USAID that several institutions in the region; both at the academic and practitioners’ levels were involved in the development or implementation of programmes or curricula for sustainable tourism. In light of that, it was felt that it would be desirable to contribute to these efforts by convening the present Consultation Meeting on the Development of Curricula for Sustainable Tourism.

Opening of the Meeting

Mr. Timothy Kasten, Officer-in-Charge of the CAR/RCU, opened the meeting at 9:15 am on 1 September 1998, at the Jamaica Conference Centre, Kingston. In his opening remarks, Mr. Kasten welcomed participants and expressed that the CEP was pleased to be able to convene this meeting thus contributing to the efforts of bringing about the development of environmentally sound tourism in the region.

On behalf of USAID Jamaica, Ms. Nicole Pitter-Patterson also welcomed participants, and highlighted that, although the convening of this Meeting was not previously included in the activities originally forecasted in the CEN Project, it was one of great significance to underpin the continuation of capacity building for sustainable tourism in the region.

The Meeting was attended by representatives from a core group of Universities and Institutions that are currently involved in this field or have been associated with training in this area. The list of participants is appended to this report as Annex I. Apologies were received from the Marine Resources Management Programme (MAREMP), University of the West Indies (UWI-Barbados); Mona Institute of Business, (UWI-Jamaica), Department of Geography, (UWI-Jamaica); Office of the Dean of Research and Graduate Studies, (UWI-Jamaica); the HEART Trust National Training Agency, Jamaica and Dr. LaVerne Ragster, Vice-President for Research and Public Service, University of the US Virgin Islands.

Meeting Objectives

Ms. Monica Borobia, Programme Officer at the CAR/RCU responsible for the co-ordination of the CEN Project, reviewed the objectives of the Meeting which were to: (1) facilitate exchange of information among interested institutions on their respective programmes (2) provide a forum for co-ordination among such institutions and (3) identify follow-up actions that may be needed. Because of the scope of the Meeting and high costs of translation, the Meeting was conducted in English.

Adoption of the Agenda

The provisional agenda was adopted by the Meeting as reflected in Annex II to this report. Participants were requested to bring any materials on their respective programmes. Such documentation, which was made available to the Meeting, is listed in Annex III to this report.

Presentation of Current Programme Development by Participant and Summary of Contents of Each Programme

On behalf of their respective organisations, each participant was requested to make a brief presentation on the status of development of their programme. Each presentation dealt with issues such as, the objectives of the programme, target audience, and programme contents, duration and lecturers. Presentations were made on programmes offered at the practitioner, undergraduate and graduate levels. These included established programmes or those planned for 1999 as follows:

1. University of the West Indies, UWI- Jamaica -Ms. Carolyn Hayle;
2. University of the West Indies, Centre for Environment and Development (UWICED) Dr. Ian Boxill;
3. Faculty of Social Sciences, UWI-Jamaica – Dr. Ian Boxill (also representing Dean Barry Chevannes);
4. University of Puerto Rico, Consortium of Caribbean Universities for Natural Resource Management (CCUNRM) – Dr. Alida Ortiz;
5. University of Quintana Roo, Mexico – Dr. Stella Arnaiz;
6. Corporación para el Desarrollo Sostenible del Archipiélago de San Andrés, Providencia y Santa Catalina (CORALINA), Colombia – Ms. June Marie Mow Robinson and
7. Mr. Anthony Hall, National Tourism Human Resource Development Project Director, Jamaica Hotel and Tourist Association (on his experiences in the development of curricula for sustainable tourism in association with the Bahamas Centre for Hotel and Tourism Management).

A summary of the Programmes compiled at the Meeting are presented in a table format and appended as Annex IV to this report.

It was stressed that the compilation prepared at the Meeting is not a comprehensive one but reflects programmes presented at the meeting and others that were known to participants and should be seen as a preliminary list. In the case of CCUNRM, a preliminary survey was carried out by Dr. Ortiz, as Co-ordinator of the Consortium to gather relevant information from Consortium members, primarily Spanish speaking, prior to this Meeting. Netherlands Antilles and Guadeloupe members are still to be surveyed.

Participants prepared a list of other training programmes and initiatives in the Caribbean region, which were not represented at the Meeting. Further information is required on details of programmes and related collaborative agreements with institutions outside the region. This list of programmes is appended as Annex V to this report. It was felt appropriate that the list of participants, along with their respective email addresses be published by UNEP-CAR/RCU in the next issue of their quarterly newsletter CEPnews, as a means of encouraging feedback from others involved in the field of education and training in tourism.

From the discussions that followed, it was clear that a distinction needed to be made of the different levels of training involving tourism at the technical, community and academic levels (i.e. practitioners, undergraduate and graduate levels). Such differences pointed to the fact that different target audiences are involved in each level as well as that no one single curriculum can address training needs for sustainable tourism in the region. Indeed, it was recognised that while there have been many past efforts for the development of curricula for tourism, the integration of the environmental dimension as an integral part of training for sustainable tourism is a new and welcome trend in the training and education of tourism professionals in the region. This integration is particularly important, as there is growing recognition of the importance of coastal and marine ecosystems as a basis for the maintenance and development of the tourism industry in the region.

It was also noted that to cope with the dynamic nature of the tourism industry, the approach towards the development of curricula in the field should be that of modular programmes, whenever possible, including outside teaching staff, as means of introducing additional background and field experiences. Hence, there was agreement that no one blue print for curricula exists and that the usefulness of devising a standard programme content would be questionable. However, it was agreed that it would be desirable to address basic guiding principles underpinning curricula development for sustainable tourism (see item VI below).

Participants also recognised the economic contribution of tourism and the importance of its social/cultural dimensions being seen as complimentary to the environmental component of sustainable tourism development in the Wider Caribbean region.

Guiding Principles for implementation of Curricula for Sustainable Tourism in the Wider Caribbean Region

Drawing from the expertise and experiences of participants, guiding principles were developed that should be considered in the implementation of curricula for sustainable tourism in the Wider Caribbean region, as a means of delineating basic issues derived from consensus. These are appended as Annex VI to this report.

Areas of Commonality, Interest and Linkages among Programmes

The Meeting discussed the desirability and the potential for linkages based on programmes presented at the Meeting and agreed as follows:

1. The Summer Spanish programme planned to be offered by the University of the West Indies, should consider being delivered in co-operation with the University of Quintana Roo, Mexico and the University of Puerto Rico;
2. Faculty professors and student exchanges should be encouraged and mechanisms pursued for its establishment;
3. Sharing of existing or planned curriculum contents (detailed programme) at all levels (promote the establishment of website links where possible);
4. Close partnership among academia and practitioners (i.e. all industry actors) should be encouraged so as to respond to industry needs and provide adequate levels of training;
5. Link with research centres/programmes (e.g. UWICED, Caribbean Tourism Organisation, Association of Caribbean Tertiary Institutions (ACTI) to feed results of such research into curriculum development processes;
6. Links should be encouraged with other disciplines (e.g. engineering, agriculture, social sciences, architecture, law, health, etc.) which have direct bearing in many aspects of tourism development.

During discussions that ensued, it was agreed that all of the above linkages would be presented by CCUNRM to the Association of Caribbean Universities and Research Institutes (UNICA) at their annual meeting, 17-18 September in the Dominican Republic. Similarly those linkages would also be presented by UWI to the Association of Caribbean Tertiary Institutions (ACTI).

Recommendations for Future Action and Co-ordination among Programmes

With a view of strengthening the quality of programmes as well as of increasing co-operation among interested institutions and various professionals addressing education and tourism training, a number of actions were recommended for future implementation. Participants agreed that the actions recommended below are meant for general consideration and potential follow-up by those involved in the field.

1. Promote the incorporation of environmental concepts into existing courses (environmental infusion);
2. Promote the recognition of degrees among university and modules/courses;
3. Improve language acquisition through internship among universities and programmes in different countries;
4. Set up a network of resource people at university and practitioners’ levels so as to facilitate a mechanism for exchange of training materials;
5. Set up annual regional training and/or workshops for faculty members to exchange information on developments, new emerging issues, and other matters of interest so as to maintain dynamism in curricula development;
6. Promote long-term links with Ministries of Tourism, Environment and Education, from academia and practitioners;
7. Promote harmonisation of entry level requirements so that experience of applicant in the field is considered.

Review of Conclusions and Closure of the Meeting

The Meeting unanimously felt that the objectives set out were successfully met. It was also felt that results should be considered as positive steps towards the consolidation of a network of professionals with a view to integrating the environmental dimension into curricula for the sustainability of tourism in the region.

In her closing remarks, Ms. Monica Borobia, thanked participants for their valuable and active participation. She expressed appreciation for their interest and open-mindness during discussions. The Meeting was closed at 6:15 p.m. on 2 September 1998.

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