Training & Education
About EFB Training & Education Program
EFB Training and Education Program, as one of EFB' core activities, aims to:
- Build awareness of sustainable tourism and ecotourism within the traveling public;
- Expand learning opportunities in sustainable tourism and ecotourism subjects;
- Promote the principles of ecotourism among a variety of audiences including governments, development agencies, and tour operators;
- Create an opportunity for professional recognition in ecotourism and sustainable travel;
- Assist in the creation of a network of travel professionals and ecotourism stakeholders;
- Take advantage of EFB unique position to assert principles of sustainability in tourism development projects and help shape tourism policy; and
- Provide the public with up-to-date information on ecotourism and responsible travel
The following are planning of EFB Training and Education initiatives:
- Conferences and Trade Shows
- University Consortium Field Certificate (UCFC) Program
- Classroom/Field Courses
- Distance Learning Courses
- Consulting Services
- Books and Publications
- Ecotourism Handbooks on Certification
- Global List of University Ecotourism and Sustainable Tourism Programs
Online Courses offered by George Washington University
The International Ecotourism Society TIES online courses, offered in collaboration with the George Washington University (GWU), provide a convenient way to learn the basics on a variety of ecotourism and sustainable tourism topics. While the main goal of the program is to provide a means of professional development for ecotourism practitioners, the courses are of general interest to other audiences as well.
We offer a professional Certificate in Sustainable Tourism Management which requires passing a minimun of six courses (three core and three elective). The Certificate is awarded jointly by EFB and the GWU. |
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Courses Currently Offered:
Program Details:
These courses can be taken online, on your own schedule, in the comfort of your home or office. Under this professional certificate program, take any six courses and earn the Sustainable Tourism Certificate. This program has been developed through a partnership with the GWU's International Institute of Tourism Studies, which has provided professional tourism education for nearly ten years. Whether you enroll in one course or complete the entire certificate program, each course offers you an excellent opportunity to acquire knowledge and skills needed to improve your professional standing.
In order to receive a certificate, you have to complete three core courses and three electives. The core courses are:
1. Sustainable Tourism Assessment and Development
2. Environmental Management for Destinations
3. Sustainable Tourism Destination Marketing
The courses are designed as a self-managed process. Once you register, you will be given access to GWU's online distance learning platform, which include course outlines. Each of the units in a course contains a course workbook which can be downloaded, and other on-line resources. Some units contain multi-media pieces for you to listen to. After completing all of the units, you will be asked to complete a short quiz. Once you successfully complete the quiz, you have passed the course. Online students usually finish a course (the equivalent of 12 hours in the classroom) in about a month.
The cost for each course is $450, with EFB members receiving a $25 discount. You must register for courses through the links above and, while you may enroll in any number of courses at the same time, you must register and pay for each course individually.
Course Descriptions:
Sustainable Tourism Assessment & Development
The rapid growth of tourism worldwide has created many challenges and opportunities for established and emerging tourism destinations. This course looks at how to conduct a tourism assessment to examine tourism potential, and how to measure the potential costs and benefits of a tourism development program.
Course topics include:
- Use tourism to expand economic development and to improve the quality of life for your destination
- Develop a community leadership model
- Compile visitor profiles and economic impact data
- Survey resident attitudes regarding tourism and its development
- Conduct visioning and goal setting activities with your stakeholders
- Assess tourism potential using a demand-driven marketing approach
- Conduct a preliminary competitive-advantage analysis, using attraction and facility inventory techniques
- Identify potential projects that contribute to economic development or investment promotion goals
- Implement social, economic, and environmental project analyses
- Establish strategic alliances and partnerships
Sustainable Tourism Destination Marketing
A practical, intensive, idea-packed approach to marketing tourism destinations. Examine how and why tourists make destination choices, and learn how to develop a strategic marketing system that emphasizes your destination's distinctive appeal. The course features case studies, and practical tips for stretching marketing dollars through better monitoring, cost controls and evaluation.
Course topics include:
- Identify and attract profitable market segments
- Create appeals that resonate with visitor benefits
- Establish strategic alliances and public-private partnerships
- Prepare an action-oriented marketing plan
- Spot opportunities in tourist spending patterns
- Track preferences of target visitors
- Add value to natural and cultural attractions
- Create and link attractions together
- Benchmark and counter competitor strategies
- Measure the performance of your marketing campaign
- Determine your return on your marketing investment
Electronic Marketing and Internet Applications
The course covers how to cost-effectively use cutting-edge technology to reach your target market segments. Case studies and workshop exercises provide opportunities to uncover practical, effective, proven solutions. Learn what works and what doesn't, in tourism destination websites. Course topics include:
- Use the Internet as a communications and market development tool
- Determine how much to spend on Internet marketing and how cost-effective it will be
- Address on-line reservation and security issues
- Incorporate the Internet into your advertising and public relations strategies
- Use the Internet to attract new business partners
Ecotourism Management
Ecotourism has proven to be an economically viable alternative for attracting tourism revenue without compromising local community values or degrading the environment. This course provides the tools needed by tourism planners, conservationists, businesses and communities to work together to develop ecotourism plans and products that will attract and accommodate the ecotourist while conserving natural resources and benefiting local people. Designed to help you understand the unique structure of the ecotourism industry, the course provides the most recent information on ecotourism marketing approaches and product development.
Course topics include:
- Understand the basic elements of ecotourism, the market and market trends
- Assess the potential of individual and group ecotourist specialty markets
- Use green guidelines for operating a successful ecotourism business
- Analyze and address the special needs of ecotourists and local communities
- Establish an ecotourism planning process at the local and regional levels
- Develop trip circuits and travel packages that are safe and offer a wide variety of experiences
- Understand the vital role of interpretation and education in adding value
Ecolodge Development
As ecotourism continues to establish itself in the global economy, the demand for well-planned, environmentally sound lodging facilities is at an all time high. Ecolodges are the answer to this demand. Ecolodges enable the visitor to interact with the natural and cultural surroundings of the region. The facility is created with conservation as a top priority. Innovative water, waste and energy systems lessen impact and promote conservation while planning, construction and operation are carried out in harmony with the natural landscape. This course will help sustainable tourism specialists, investors, resort developers, architects and landscape architects assess the financial feasibility and market potential for an ecolodge. Market research results and trends in this industry will be reviewed in order to more accurately project costs and potential revenue, and determine whether an ecolodge venture is economically viable.
Course topics include:
- Assess the market demand for ecolodge types and the experiences they provide Estimate realistic cost projections/revenue potential and develop pricing strategies
- Find the best locations and evaluate site development opportunities and constraints
- Establish regional planning cooperation
- Develop a master plan to incorporate sustainable development and green guidelines into the project
- Benefit from the use of renewable energy technologies, and proper water and waste management
- Launch a successful ecolodge, including scheduling, budgeting, staffing, "soft" opening, vendor selection, public relations, transportation, and customer service
Environmental Management for Destinations
This course focuses on sustainable tourism strategies and innovations, including Agenda 21 and the Green Globe Destination Program. It examines how destinations have improved competitiveness by creating environmentally friendly tourism products and services. The course emphasizes establishing policies and management plans to identify and reduce the environmental impact created by tourism facilities and services, and looks at how to create environmental management systems ( EMS ) with broad public/private support.
Course topics include:
- Identify consumer demand for environmentally friendly tourism
- Develop and maintain a unified environmentally sustainable theme for your destination
- Develop an EMS policy and strategy, situation analysis, visioning, priority definition, gap analysis, and strategy formation
- Plan EMS implementation steps using environmental performance indicators and action plans
- Incorporate the EMS process into existing management regimes and design EMS training programs
- Review ongoing EMS and make adjustments to reflect failures, successes, and/or changing requirements
Tourist Guide Techniques
This course provides tourist guides and new entrants into the industry with essential skills to deliver an exceptional tour experience. A focus on practical information related to interpretation, guiding techniques, tour logistics and mechanics.
Course topics include:
- Explore motivations for travel to develop profiles of travelers
- Understand cultural heritage tourism issues in relation to tour guiding
- Understand the way tourist guides interact with tourism industry organizations
- List the different types of tours available and identify the challenges faced by each
- Explore the significance of interpretation and interpretive techniques
- Establish methods for working with groups of different cultural backgrounds and beliefs
- Enhance methods for working with groups of different cultural backgrounds and beliefs
- Enhance interpersonal skills ? presentation, public speaking, and social skills
- Develop techniques for dealing with tour logistics
Coastal & Marine Ecotourism
As coastal areas and marine ecosystems (e.g., reefs, mangroves, beach/intertidal zones) in the more developed countries have degraded over time, tourists seek intimate contact with nature in more remote and pristine environments. This course assists destination managers, local resort managers, and government authorities in maintaining sustainable marine ecotourism and reef recreation activities while working with the local community to accommodate their needs and preserve the marine and coastal environment. It also shows how marine resorts in degraded areas must work with local authorities to rebuild marine resources to re-establish their place in the traditional coastal tourism and growing marine ecotourism market.
Course topics include:
- Integrate coastal zone management and marine/reef conservation into a sustainable tourism development strategy
- Identify the special characteristics of marine ecotourists
- Use innovative resource planning techniques and coastal zone management best practices
- Establish zoning and visitor tracking methods
- Educate visitors and staff about low-impact forms of recreation
- Monitor and assess more accurately the long-term effects of tourism on local resources
- Increase government's commitment in marine park protection and effective coastal management
- Anticipate marine tourists' expectations
- Develop effective educational programs including guest briefings, videos and demonstrations
Cultural Heritage Tourism
Cultural and heritage tourism is a major force in the tourism industry, but one that must balance visitor interests and needs against protecting cultural and heritage resources. This course examines the range of cultural and heritage assets that can become viable tourism attractions, and looks at ways of linking quality cultural heritage tourism to community development, from effective planning and marketing to community involvement and partnership approaches.
Course topics include:
- Develop cultural and heritage resources as tourism attractions
- Marry cultural heritage tourism and economic development
- Use collaborative techniques to ensure community objectives and heritage preservation are served
- Conduct a resource assessment
- Facilitate community participation in developing a community-based cultural heritage tourism planning process
- Market cultural-heritage-related tourism services
- Use proven techniques to enhance the visitor experience
- Assess the potential of festivals and events to produce low impact and high visitation results
- Create strategic partnerships for funding and resources
- Use accreditation and certification processes to develop and monitor the cultural tourism development and marketing process (e.g., Iowa 's TEAM/CEPP process)
Community-Based Ecotourism
Students will be introduced to the issues and challenges of CBT, and will learn the elements and basic steps of planning and implementing CBT. Students will become familiar with:
- The concept, principles, and aims of CBT
- The various actors involved in CBT, and the critical importance of participation when developing and implementing a CBT venture
- The planning and implementation stages of a CBT venture
- The positive and negative impacts, and challenges of CBT.
Classroom / Field Courses
TIES has conducted ecotourism and sustainable tourism classroom and/or field-based courses and workshops since 1991 in a variety of countries. Some of the courses we have offered in the past include:
- Ecotourism planning and management
- Ecotourism for local communities and biodiversity conservation
- Communities and ecotourism
- Ecolodge planning and design workshop
- Ecotourism interpretation and product development
- Marine ecotourism: Responsible techniques and practices
- Government planning for ecotourism
- Ecotourism in emerging tourism markets
- Environmental management systems for sustainable tourism best practices
- Ecotourism product development
- Planning and developing an ecotourism destination
Often workshops are organized together with academic institutions such as George Washington University , University of West Virginia , and University of Western Sydney , Australia . Our courses offer approaches, techniques, and viewpoints that are innovative and tailored to the rapid changes in the field of sustainable tourism. Courses are tailored to fit the needs of the host organization or institution and can be taught singly or in groups. Course workshops can range from one to five days. Instructors are drawn from TIES Experts Bureau; most are academics or practitioners. TIES' programs attract participants with professional affiliations ranging from park managers to architects and builders, to conservation and development professionals, lodge owners, tour operators and government officials.
TIES members receive a discount on courses. Prices for these courses vary depending on length, venue, etc.
TIES is currently in a cycle of updating its workshop content and few courses will be offered in 2005. We hope to have updated course material ready for 2006.
For more information, e-mail courses@ecotourism.org
Conferences & Trade Shows
EFB attends several conferences and trade shows throughout the year. We often present workshops, speak on ecotourism and sustainable tourism topics, hold EFB members only meetings, and negotiate discounts for our members.
Current Member Discounts are available for:
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Consulting Services
EFB' consulting offerings are as diverse as our professional membership, and we take on both non-competitive and competitive projects.
We make extensive use of our Experts Bureau when forming any given consulting team, which affords us great flexibility in where we are able to work and on what types of projects. We are able to tap into consultants with specialties on almost any topics in ecotourism and responsible travel and with experience and/or language ability virtually anywhere in the world.
To avoid conflicts of interest, EFB Board members do not engage in paid consulting for EFB. (View EFB consultant hiring policy )
If you have a project and would like EFB to consult, please feel free to send your inquiry and/or request for applications (RFA) to education@ecotourismbd.org .
We also invite you to search our Experts Bureau to find the expert(s) you need.
Books and Publications
The dissemination of peer-reviewed publications containing best-practice strategies for national and international sustainable tourism development is a critical element within EFB mission. Therefore, EFB endeavors to provide the highest quality and most up-to-date ecotourism and sustainable tourism publications available. We produce our own publications and sell or provide publications of others. Many of these books and publications are available for purchase in the EFB Store , while a large number of other publications are available for free download in the EFB Library , as well as the Research & Publication section.
EFB Store
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EFB Online Library
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EFB Research & Publications
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Green Building Resources
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Ecotourism Tips
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Rural ICT 4D Business Managers' Training Center
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Ecotourism School
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Note Bennie English School
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Doll Factory
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Ecotourism Wear
Darkak
Please contact for Darkak ecotourism wears and gift items:
Poet Sanzib Purohith
35 Aziz Supermarket, 2 nd Floor,
Shahbagh, Dhaka-1000.
Bangladesh .
Cell: 0088 01715177111
Email: sanzib@greencrow.org
Email: sanzib@darkak.com
Website: http://www.greencrow.org , www.darkak.com
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