The three-phase seminars will commence with a day-long practical workshop on management of information during crisis periods that will include a review of how information pertaining to tourism was managed during the recent period of insecurity following the elections.
International experts will discuss case studies of how other destinations have handled crisis communications, including the 9/11 terror attacks, bird flu outbreaks and the Asian tsunami, before working with invited officials from both the public and private sector to devise a strategy for future management of crises.
The following three days will include separate training for individuals and organizations from the public and private sectors in online sales and marketing. The training will stress the importance of incorporating online elements into recovery strategies.
The workshops will be facilitated by Damian Cook, the MD of E-Tourism Africa, a new initiative to develop online tourism across the continent and Peter Varlow, a leading e-marketing consultant and author of a new Handbook for Tourism Destination E-Marketers produced by the European Travel Commission and the UN World Tourism Organisation.
The two were lead presenters at TTF's extremely popular E-Tourism Conference held in Mombasa last July.
Assisting them will be John Bell, a leading Crisis Management Consultant. He is a Journalist and Broadcaster, Lecturer, Media Trainer, TV and Radio Presenter with 20 years experience in Crisis Management.
Tourism Trust Fund CEO, Dr Dan Kagagi, says it was imperative that the tourism sector uses technology to recover from the crisis period- and build an even stronger sector for the future.
“Businesses in tourism need to embrace the web in a big way as it has become the predominant means of booking and selling travel. We are confident that coupled with our other initiatives to get our tourism sector back on track, online marketing will ensure sustainability”, observed Dr. Kagagi.
“ We are living up to our mission, part of which is to provide direct support and assistance to local stakeholders, but also to ensure that the destination and its stakeholders are better prepared to compete in the modern marketplace- and be prepared to deal with unexpected developments and crises”.
The Tourism Trust Fund, (http://www.ttfkenya.org) was established in 2002 through an agreement by the European Union and the Government of Kenya. The EU has committed €22 million (Ksh2.2bn) to the fund to be used to in the development of Kenya's tourism up to 2007.
The major role of the TTF is to fund the Kenya Tourist Board's international marketing programme and to fund new tourism projects that will offer visitors a new experience in Kenya, while at the same time conserving the environment.
