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Educational tourism as a business
Lessons from Guatemala for Jamaica
BY GREG EVANS
Sunday, April 24, 2005
EDUCATIONAL tourism refers to persons who travel to pursue studies in a foreign market. It is normal for people from all over the world to travel to Guatemala to learn Spanish. Travel guides for the country, apart from having the usual information on where to eat, where to stay, and so on, include a listing of Spanish schools.
The schools are accredited by the Tourist Institute of Guatemala - known locally as Inguat - and accredited schools have the advantage of being listed in tourist guides with information provided by Inguat.
Courses are usually designed for a week, are inexpensive and include accommodations.
The courses cater to people who require private one-on-one classes and can either be intensive or moderate in terms of scheduling.
The idea is that tourists will come out of the experience having improved or perfected their command of the language after living in a totally Spanish-speaking environment and taking a varying number of hours of class per day.
So, when the students are out of class, they can practice what they have learned and in class can ask questions on something they heard in the street and didn't quite understand.
They will be able to then use the language for work, or whatever purpose they need it.
The tourism component
Since these courses are governed by the tourism authorities, they are required to have a tourist component as well.
The schools also provide access to local cultural activities such as visits to Mayan museums, volcano tours, salsa dancing lessons and student-teacher football matches.
The courses are also required to have an element that promotes and teaches about the country's folklore and culture, and the ambiance of the school itself should create an environment that depicts local traditions.
Tourists who take these classes sometimes stay longer than a week.
As hotels can be costly, they might need to make some additional cash.
Some do this by teaching the locals English or whatever their native tongue might be.
This helps the tourists to pay for their stay and provides an important benefit to the local community.
By learning the language of the tourists, they are able to better serve and attract those tourists who visit for non-educational purposes, and also attract locals who need to learn another language to help them in other sectors of the local economy.
Applying the model to Jamaica
It is easy to imagine tourists from all over the world wanting to learn English on Jamaica's beaches.
Jamaica is surrounded by Spanish-speaking Central America, Cuba, Puerto Rico, and the Dominican Republic.
Add to that the proximity of the French Caribbean and South America, and it is not hard to see how we could draw many tourists in this way.
Managing the courses would not be very complicated.
The Jamaica Tourist Board (JTB) and the Ministry of Education would work together to establish standards in terms of what capabilities a student should have after a given level or number of hours, but not restrict the methodology or source of materials in order to provide options for the tourist and stimulate competition.
JTB would make suggestions as to the type of décor the schools should have and also provide easy access to cultural activities the schools may offer to add the component of Jamaican culture.
The schools and hotels would also make their own private co-operation arrangements.
Trips and activities would depend on the location of the course. For example, schools on the north coast could offer trips to Dunn's River Falls, Black River and Appleton Estate.
In the Kingston area, they would likely offer visits to places such as Port Royal and the Bob Marley Museum.
As in the case of Guatemala, tourists who come for extended stays can earn extra cash teaching their language to locals.
There can be deals worked out that would include these earnings as a discount towards accommodations and classes, especially in the case of the tourist teaching employees of the hotel or other tourist-related enterprise as they would be providing a direct benefit to the industry.
Educational tourism is an untried means of further boosting the tourist industry. But, with Jamaica's experience in general tourism, plus its history and culture, the island could excel in this type of business.
Greg Evans is a Jamaican who has been living in Guatemala for the past year. Email: greg_74 @ hotmail.com
<a href="http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/magazines/Business/html/20050423T160000-0500_79225_OBS_EDUCATIONAL_TOURISM_AS_A_BUSINESS.a sp" target="_blank">Educational tourism as a business
Lessons from Guatemala for Jamaica</a>
Lessons from Guatemala for Jamaica
BY GREG EVANS
Sunday, April 24, 2005
EDUCATIONAL tourism refers to persons who travel to pursue studies in a foreign market. It is normal for people from all over the world to travel to Guatemala to learn Spanish. Travel guides for the country, apart from having the usual information on where to eat, where to stay, and so on, include a listing of Spanish schools.
The schools are accredited by the Tourist Institute of Guatemala - known locally as Inguat - and accredited schools have the advantage of being listed in tourist guides with information provided by Inguat.
Courses are usually designed for a week, are inexpensive and include accommodations.
The courses cater to people who require private one-on-one classes and can either be intensive or moderate in terms of scheduling.
The idea is that tourists will come out of the experience having improved or perfected their command of the language after living in a totally Spanish-speaking environment and taking a varying number of hours of class per day.
So, when the students are out of class, they can practice what they have learned and in class can ask questions on something they heard in the street and didn't quite understand.
They will be able to then use the language for work, or whatever purpose they need it.
The tourism component
Since these courses are governed by the tourism authorities, they are required to have a tourist component as well.
The schools also provide access to local cultural activities such as visits to Mayan museums, volcano tours, salsa dancing lessons and student-teacher football matches.
The courses are also required to have an element that promotes and teaches about the country's folklore and culture, and the ambiance of the school itself should create an environment that depicts local traditions.
Tourists who take these classes sometimes stay longer than a week.
As hotels can be costly, they might need to make some additional cash.
Some do this by teaching the locals English or whatever their native tongue might be.
This helps the tourists to pay for their stay and provides an important benefit to the local community.
By learning the language of the tourists, they are able to better serve and attract those tourists who visit for non-educational purposes, and also attract locals who need to learn another language to help them in other sectors of the local economy.
Applying the model to Jamaica
It is easy to imagine tourists from all over the world wanting to learn English on Jamaica's beaches.
Jamaica is surrounded by Spanish-speaking Central America, Cuba, Puerto Rico, and the Dominican Republic.
Add to that the proximity of the French Caribbean and South America, and it is not hard to see how we could draw many tourists in this way.
Managing the courses would not be very complicated.
The Jamaica Tourist Board (JTB) and the Ministry of Education would work together to establish standards in terms of what capabilities a student should have after a given level or number of hours, but not restrict the methodology or source of materials in order to provide options for the tourist and stimulate competition.
JTB would make suggestions as to the type of décor the schools should have and also provide easy access to cultural activities the schools may offer to add the component of Jamaican culture.
The schools and hotels would also make their own private co-operation arrangements.
Trips and activities would depend on the location of the course. For example, schools on the north coast could offer trips to Dunn's River Falls, Black River and Appleton Estate.
In the Kingston area, they would likely offer visits to places such as Port Royal and the Bob Marley Museum.
As in the case of Guatemala, tourists who come for extended stays can earn extra cash teaching their language to locals.
There can be deals worked out that would include these earnings as a discount towards accommodations and classes, especially in the case of the tourist teaching employees of the hotel or other tourist-related enterprise as they would be providing a direct benefit to the industry.
Educational tourism is an untried means of further boosting the tourist industry. But, with Jamaica's experience in general tourism, plus its history and culture, the island could excel in this type of business.
Greg Evans is a Jamaican who has been living in Guatemala for the past year. Email: greg_74 @ hotmail.com
<a href="http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/magazines/Business/html/20050423T160000-0500_79225_OBS_EDUCATIONAL_TOURISM_AS_A_BUSINESS.a sp" target="_blank">Educational tourism as a business
Lessons from Guatemala for Jamaica</a>
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