The Sanma Department of Tourism together with the Australian Government funded TVET Centre is holding a workshop for Sanma tour operators and product owners to improve their businesses and learn from the best.
To be held on Thursday 15 December, the invited guest speaker is the Director of Ever Green LTD, Phillip Malas, who will be talking about the success of his business in Port Vila.
Speaking today, Department of Tourism Business Development Advisor, Karen Henry, said the workshop is part of an ongoing tourism project with the Sanma TVET Centre to grow the tourism industry in the province.
“We’ve invited Mr Malas to be our speaker as he is one of the most successful non-expatriate tour operators in Vanuatu, he will explain how Evergreen started and how it has grown over the years. His talk will hopefully inspire the local tour operators in Sanma and show them what can be achieved,” she said.
Business Development Services Manager at the Sanma TVET Centre, Fremden Shadrack said the workshop will demonstrate to the local tour operators that Ni-Vanuatu people can succeed in tourism.
“Mr Malas will be explaining how he started with one tour of the cascade waterfalls which grew into a business that runs many tours around Vanuatu. He will also share some of the difficulties facing local businesses and how he overcame these challenges.”
“The presentation will also give insight into how a tourism activity can grow into a healthy business, using Evergreen as a benchmark and it will illustrate the difference between a real tour operator and a bus driver,” said Mr Shadrack.
Part of the presentation will also include the explanation of how the booking of tours comes from various distribution channels, how a commission system works with hotels and wholesalers as well as how to market your business through the internet and other tourism businesses.
“This workshop conducted through the TVET Centre is a great opportunity for tour operators and anyone interested in starting a tourism business as it will provide useful information about how tours operate in other parts of the world. It will also be a good chance to talk to and ask questions of an experienced and successful tour operator,” said Mrs Henry.
The workshop is part of the Sanma TVET Centre’s objective to strengthen economic development in the tourism sector in Sanma. Since February 2011, the Centre has been delivering a series of workshops and coaching sessions to local bungalow and tour operators to improve their businesses.