Business View Caribbean | Volume 8, Issue 12

16 BUSINESS VIEW CARIBBEAN VOLUME 8, ISSUE 12 What the Caribbean Tourism Institute presents us with is a blended approach to learning, utilising synchronous and asynchronous delivery methods as this online platform will allow for self-paced instruction and also host real-time training and development sessions over 2.5 million professionals in the Caribbean’s hospitality and tourism sector, ” he added. About the Caribbean Tourism Organization The Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO), which is headquartered in Barbados, is the Caribbean’s tourism development agency comprising membership of the region’s finest countries and territories including Dutch, English, French and Spanish-speaking, as well as a myriad of private sector allied members. The CTO’s vision is to position the Caribbean as the most desirable, year-round, warm weather destination, and its purpose is Leading Sustainable Tourism – One Sea, One Voice, One Caribbean. Among the benefits to its members the organisation provides specialised support and technical assistance in sustainable tourism development, marketing, communications, advocacy, human resource development, event planning & execution and research & information technology. “This partnership has allowed us to develop and offer this virtual training hub and will continue to help us in our mission to develop and design relevant e-learning content, which will benefit our tourism and hospitality sector.” From its inception, the CTO has been a strong proponent of human resources development in the tourism industry and has as one of its strategic objectives, to assist its member countries in developing and strengthening their human capital to better enable them to offer high levels of professional service. The launch of the online training platform and courses is an important step in achieving this objective and to support ongoing training and build regional and institutional capacity. “What the Caribbean Tourism Institute presents us with is a blended approach to learning, utilising synchronous and asynchronous delivery methods as this online platform will allow for self-paced instruction and also host real- time training and development sessions,” said Sharon Banfield, the CTO’s director of resource mobilisation and development. As part of the agreement, Velsoft will provide all of the resources to convert CTO courses into e-learning activities and will allow the institute full access to its non-accredited courses, which will be promoted under the institute’s brand. “Velsoft is excited to partner with the Caribbean Tourism Organization on the ambitious initiative to raise the collective level of skills in the Caribbean’s tourism sector. The Caribbean Tourism Institute represents the easiest and most cost-effective way to provide personalised training that is both culturally and contextually relevant,” said Jim Fitt, chief executive of Velsoft. “Our intention is to release at least two new online courses each month as a way of ensuring the Caribbean Tourism Institute maintains its commitment to ensuring the latest and most applicable training is made available to the