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Capacity Building

TAK completes Pacific SME Tourism Recovery Toolkit training

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Five officers from the Tourism Authority of Kiribati (TAK) completed the Pacific Tourism Organisation’s (SPTO) five (5) weeks virtual SME Tourism Recovery Toolkit Training of Trainer’s program on 19 August 2022.

The SPTO SME Tourism Recovery Toolkit is designed to support tourism SME’s in the Pacific respond, adapt and diversify their products and services through and improved understanding of the changing tourism market and travel demands post COVID-19.

The online training was based on seven (7) modules and included evolving market trends, product design and adaption, health, safety and security considerations, pricing techniques, market access, customer service and online sales and marketing.

The program focused on training local training providers at country level to facilitate trainings for the industry as needed.

TAK staffs that participated also included two (2) Kiritimati Island officers. Together, they will deliver Tourism SME Recovery training to all tourism business operators across Kiribati.

TAK participates in Malaysian Technical Cooperation Programme

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The Tourism Authority of Kiribati (TAK) participated in a Malaysian Technical Cooperation Programme (MTCP) on a short course on Strategies in Developing and Managing Sustainable Muslim Friendly Destinations and Products from 19 – 27 July 2022.

Senior Tourism Officer Mr Tekonaba Teburea and Tourism Officer Ms. Maaba Katirite participated in the training.

Part of the one-week virtual training included a country report presentation and TAK took this opportunity to educate other participants and the host country about Kiribati.

Muslim Travellers is one of the fast-growing markets and one that has been targeted by other non-Muslim countries. TAK participation in this training has given both officers a better understanding of what a country needs to do to become a Muslim Friendly Destination.

The training concluded on Wednesday 27 July with a special award announcement.

Kiritimati Island Refresher for COVID-19 Safety Protocols

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The Tourism Authority of Kiribati (TAK) began its Kiribati Tourism & Hospitality Protocols for the New Normal refresher training for all tourism operators on Kiritimati Island starting from 14 July 2022.

The purpose of this refresher training is to ensure skills and knowledge learned during the initial training are still intact and that operators are well prepared when Kiritimati borders reopen.

Apart from the safety protocols training conducted, TAK also shared with participants a formula provided by the Ministry of Health and Medical Service on making sanitizers using bleach and water as a substitute in case the original sanitizer is out of stock on the island.

The first few operators who have received the refresher training have shown great results and TAK has no doubt that all tourism operators in Kiritimati Island will be ready when borders are finally open in August.

 

TAK Conducts Tourism Restart Training on Makin

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The Tourism Authority of Kiribati (TAK) conducted a Tourism Restart Training for tourism operators on Makin Island from 07 – 17 June 2022.

The training was focused on preparing Makin Island tourism operators for a safe, smart and sustainable restart to international tourism when 2022 border reopen on 01 August 2022.  The 8-days training programme included Covid-19 Safety Protocols, Revenue Management, Tourism Business Fundamentals, and First Aid training.

Through these training, TAK believes that Makin tourism operators are now better informed and equipped to apply COVID-19 safety measures and protocols when hosting guests and are better prepared to manage first aid assistance if ever required.

Learnings form the revenue management and tourism business fundamentals training will also assist Makin tourism operators improve profitability for their respective businesses through effective marketing, product development and revenue management.

TAK also used their time on Makin Island to present the Makin Island Outer Island Perception Survey (OIPS) report to the full island council, and also undertook tourism awareness presentations at the Primary Schools and Junior Secondary Schools on Makin and Kiebu Islet.

The George Hotel receives Bakery Training

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The Tourism Authority of Kiribati (TAK) conducted a 4-day pastry baking training to 3 kitchen staff of the George Hotel from 16-19 May 2022.

The training was provided by the Assistant Training and Development Officer as a special request from the George Hotel to improve their kitchen staffs’ capability in baking as well as to enhance their pastry menu offered to guests.

In the midst of Covid-19 outbreak and the prolonged lockdown and curfews, George Hotel have been able to maintain its kitchen employees, and this had been possible through the provision of catering services as an alternative to the Hotel restaurant. The request for the bakery training enables the hotel to provide a variety of menu for breakfast or morning tea serves.

A total of eight recipes were shared during the training with practical sessions at the hotel’s kitchen.  TAK encouraged the trainees to keep practicing their new recipes and improve their pastry menu and presentation to guests.

Preparatory work on Safe Tourism Restart continues

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The Tourism Authority of Kiribati (TAK) conducted a two-days training on Kiribati Tourism & Hospitality Protocols for the New Normal to staffs of the George Hotel, Betio on 03 – 04 May 2022.

This training is a follow up to the first round of COVID-19 tourism protocol trainings delivered to South Tarawa tourism operators  in June 2021 and is based on the recommendations of the protocol compliance monitoring and evaluation assessment carried out in January 2022 .

The George Hotel session covered all aspect of the Kiribati Tourism & Hospitality Protocols to the New Normal and these include COVID-19 safety protocols for transport, hotel & accommodation, restaurant & bars, employees’ safety, and waste disposal.

TAK believes that the training would prepare tourism services operators such as the George Hotel for a safe international border reopening to Kiribati.

TAK will continue to deliver COVID-19 protocol training for tourism sector partners across the destination with the goal of achieving a 100% compliance to the protocols. This is part of the Authority’s preparation for a safe, smart, and sustainable restart to tourism in Kiribati.

Kiritimati Hotels complete COVID-19 safety training.

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90% of the total employees of Kiritimati Island hotels and accommodation providers have now completed the Kiribati Tourism & Hospitality Protocols for the New Normal training funded through the US Embassy’s Economic Recovery Grant.

The Kiribati Tourism & Hospitality Protocols for the New Normal is a set of COVID-19 safety protocols and guidelines for tourism enterprises. Developed in consultation with the Ministry of Health & Medical Services (MHMS), the protocols cover accommodation, transport, restaurant and bars, employee safety and the safe disposal of COVID-19 related waste.

The Inn Pacific, established in February 2020 was the latest Kiritimati accommodation provider to undergo the two-day COVID-19 safety protocol training by the Tourism Authority of Kiribati (TAK) on 30 and 31 December 2021.

The remaining 10% of tourism employees in Kiritimati will undergo their COVID-19 protocol training in January 2022.

Tourism Restart Program rolled out in Kiritimati Island

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The announcement by His Excellency, Te Beretitenti, Taneti Maamau in September to open Kiribati’s borders in January 2022 has prompted the Tourism Authority of Kiribati (TAK) to begin rolling out its Tourism Restart Program in Kiritimati Island.

A key component to the Kiribati Restart Program is the Kiribati Tourism & Hospitality Protocols for the New Normal, a set of safety protocols designed to assist tourism business operators to protect their guests and staffs against the threat of COVID-19 when borders reopen in January 2022.

The training was delivered on the 20th and 21st of October at the Inn Pacific Motel, Kiritimati and was attended by accommodation providers from around the island.

In his official address, the Minister for Line & Phoenix Islands Development (MLPID) Honorable Mikarite Temari urged the tourism operators to take the training seriously. He encouraged participants to capture as much as possible from these safety protocols.

He said that “as frontline staff, the future of border reopening for Kiritimati depends on how confident and ready you are to receive international visitors”.

Honourable Temari added that MLPID plans to have Kiritimati be the first to open its international border however this will depend on COVID0-19 safety protocols compliance by all tourism business operators.

Participants of the workshop included employees from the Villages hotel, Lagoon View hotel, Inn Pacific motel, Mauri Delights apartment, Sunset Horizon Fishing Lodge, The Little Flower Guesthouse and Ikari house.

The training included simulation exercises on each recommended protocol to allow participants to better grasp the significance of the compliance measures, particularly since Kiritimati has been COVID-19 safe since the pandemic broke out. Participants will also be assisted with a supply of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE).

In thanking the trainers, Mr Bureieta from the Village Hotel shared that all tourism operators in Kiritimati look forward to the reopening of the border as the hotel industry has been the most affected during this pandemic. He also expressed that they were equally conscious of the risks of COVID- 19 and will ensure that they are all fully compliant and well prepared for the reopening.

The protocol and training were funded through the US Embassy’s Economic Recovery Grant and supported by the Ministry of Health & Medical Services (MHMS) and the Kiribati Chamber of Commerce & Industry (KCCI).

 

COVID-19 protocol Training in Abaiang

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The Tourism Authority of Kiribati (TAK) in partnership with the Kiribati Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) conducted its Kiribati Tourism & Hospitality Protocols for the New Normal training for tourism operators in Abaiang island on Friday 20 August 2021.

The training is part of TAK’s tourism restart program and is focused on educating tourism businesses on COVID-19 travel safety protocols and assist them to comply with these protocols one Kiribati’s international borders reopen.

The one-day training was attended by representatives from Terau Beach Bungalow, Ocean Breeze Bungalow, Abaiang Island Council Guest House, and Teirio Retreat.

Funded the US Embassy’s Economic Recovery Fund, the training also included the provision of PPEs to each participating tourism operator.  Similar training is also planned for Kiritimati and outer islands of the Gilbert and Line islands.

NZTRI conducts workshop on data analysis

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The New Zealand Tourism Research Institute (NZTRI) conducted a virtual workshop on Statistical Package for the Social Science (SPSS) for the Tourism Authority of Kiribati (TAK) and Planning Division of the Ministry of Information, Communication, Transport and Tourism Development (MICTTD) on  21 July 2021.

This was a third of a series of capacity building workshops on online survey design, distribution, collection, and data analysis and is part of Phase 2 of the Pacific Tourism Data Initiative (PTDI) funded by New Zealand’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFAT).

The goal of the PTDI is to increase evidence-based tourism decision making in the Pacific with a view to strengthening sustainable economic development.

The participants were taken through the basics of SPSS interface to understand how to use SPSS and perform tasks such as data cleaning and transforming variables.

The SPSS workshop was a follow on from workshops 1 in April 2021 (Designing Surveys) and 2 in May 2021 (Online survey software – Qualtrics).

The Tourism Authority of Kiribati is responsible for working with our partners to encourage travelers to come to Kiribati and spend time exploring our country.

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