The Costa Rican Tourism Institute (ICT) recently launched its own virtual platform for the development of courses, talks, and webinars designed primarily for collaborators and entrepreneurs in the tourism sector.
The objective is to train in different topics thus improving business management, quality, and content related to cleaning and sanitation standards to provide safe services to national and international tourists and to better prepare themselves for the “new normal” with regards to COVID-19.
The “ICT CAPACITA” platform was launched by MaríaAmaliaRevelo, Minister of Tourism. “This training platform is the mechanism through which we will contribute to the personal and professional development of those people who work in the care of national and foreign tourists,” said the Minister.
“We want to enhance the knowledge and skills of personnel who work in the sector, and are highly qualified and productive, for optimal performance of their tasks,” added the Minister.
As part of its launching, the ICT invited Alejandro Varela, Regional Director for the Americas of the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), who via Zoom and from Spain gave the inaugural talk: “Situation of tourism in times of COVID-19”.
Varela has extensive experience and has worked in the tourism sector for more than two decades; He worked in the Argentine Tourism Secretariat in the area of International Relations and since June 2009 he has worked in the UNWTO, an organization attached to the United Nations.
ICT CAPACITA is part of the Roadmap for the reactivation of the tourism sector prepared jointly by the national public and private sectors. In addition to officials of the Institution, other related organizations that participated in the design of the course menu were: the Costa Rican Association of Tour Operators; the Costa Rican Association of Tourism Professionals; the National Chamber of Tourism; the Costa Rican Chamber of Hotels and the National Chamber of Ecotourism and Sustainable Tourism of Costa Rica. It also had the advice of the National Learning Institute (INA), universities and other organizations.
How does the platform work?
The ICT CAPACITA platform is free and will offer more than 100 courses. The topics are varied and include: “Tourist declaration”; “Soft skills for tourism companies”; “Handling complaints”; “Wellness Tourism”; “Costa Rican general culture”, “How to link local tourism companies with local suppliers”; “General aspects of sanitation for tourist activities during COVID-19“; “General measures to operate a restaurant in times of COVID-19”; “Guide programs to obtain certification”.
The course offer will be gradually opened, for which the different sectors will be invited to participate in a timely manner. It is important to indicate that some of the courses will have a quiz to approve and then users will be able to download the certificate obtained.
In addition to the courses, there will be talks with various topics such as “Disruptive tools to reinvent yourself in times of change”, “The power of positive thoughts and the management of emotions in uncertain situations” and “Quality of services in hotels, restaurants, agencies and thematic activities”.
To access ICT CAPACITA, those interested must enter the website https://ictcapacita.go.cr from a computer, cell phone, or tablet. It also can be accessed through the institutional website www.ict.go.cr in a dedicated section, to facilitate the user experience.
Upon entering, you must register in the upper right in the “access” option, then choose the word “register as a user” and select “create a new account” by completing the required data. After clicking the “create account” option, you will receive an email at the email address provided by the user during registration.
The follow-up of this new training tool will be coordinated by the ICT Tourism Development area and the programming of the next available courses will be announced on official ICT channels such as the official Facebook profile of the Costa Rican Tourism Institute and on the website www.ict.go.cr
