CCTN South Africa visiting Jamaica on a Community Tourism Study Tour

by CCTNSA
(South Africa)

CCTNSA, (Countrystyle Community Tourism Network, South Africa), is a non profit association and satellite of CCTN Caribbean, which is endorsed by the IIPT (International Institute for Peace through Tourism.

CCTNSA has arranged an educational tour to Jamaica in February 2012, to learn about Jamaica's world recognized "Villages as Businesses" Program, and will be visiting the Annual Marcus Garvey Fair in Resource Village, South Manchester.

Nikki De Pina of CCTNSA says "It is our intention to learn about the successful Jamaican model and to apply it to a South African context. CCTNSA has committed itself to guiding a community tourism project at Onverwacht in Tshwane which will be a first beneficiary of the learnings from CCTNSA’s studies of South African, Jamaican and other world models. All community stakeholders including local government, private enterprise and the community are being invited to be involved in this project."

Mapula Thlagale of CCTNSA says "It will be particularly interesting to meet with Jamaica’s academic institutions to learn more about their learning programmes to support community tourism development projects. We hope to apply relevant and successful learning programmes from Jamaica to capacitate local communities with skills needed to make community tourism and community development projects sustainable in South Africa. We are particularly excited to have been invited by the Jamaican organizers of the annual Marcus Garvey celebrations to showcase South Africa and its cultures and communities to Jamaicans."

Don Leffler of CCTNSA says "The educational tour to Jamaica will be included in a comprehensive Handbook and Educational DVD entitled 'Community Tourism: Creating Footprints' which references tourism models and practices in the Caribbean, South Africa and other countries. CCTNSA and the Tourism Centre of Excellence invites all community tourism stakeholders to share their stories so that we can include relevant current case studies in our educational material."