THE South Pacific Tourism Organisation will host a one-day workshop today to increase awareness and understanding of the EU-funded Pacific Regional Tourism Capacity Building Programme (PRTCBP).
The workshop, which will be held at the Novotel, Nadi is targeting heads and representatives of beneficiary Pacific ACP countries and SPTO directors.
The SPTO recently launched the PRTCBP which is funded by the European Union under the 10th European Development Fund (EDF).
The program aims to strengthen capacity in the tourism industry in the region and will be implemented over 36 months (2012-2015).
Under this project, SPTO will plan, organise and carry out a series of concerted actions grouped into three result areas namely sector planning and policy development, market research and marketing and human resources development.
"Through this EU-funded project, SPTO aims to help its member countries to improve their tourism policies and plans, and generally build their capacity to grow and manage their tourism sector sustainably," SPTO chief executive Ilisoni Vuidreketi said.
"More importantly, SPTO will help the private sector, with special emphasis on small-scale operators, to access markets by providing research and intelligence support on niche markets, training and skills development, as well as product improvements," he said.