Travel agent association plans to train over 1,000 new tour guides, hospitality workers

CATA president Chhay Sivlin at the opening of the training session. - The Phnom Penh Post/Asia News Network

PHNOM PENH (The Phnom Penh Post/Asia News Network): The Cambodia Association of Travel Agents (CATA) ran a two-month training session on tourism and hospitality skills for more than 1,000 tour guides, travel agency staff members and hospitality workers in Siem Reap.

CATA president Chhay Sivlin said at the opening of the training session on Aug 19 that it was designed to strengthen existing skills and help employees who are working in tourism or have lost their jobs in the tourism and hospitality industry in order to help them recover in the post-pandemic period.

She added that the training was run in collaboration with the Ministry of Tourism and CATA with the technical support of ATP Consultants and CHT and funded by the Ministry of Economy and Finance through the skills development fund.

She continued that the session was for 49 trainers who will be trained by ATP Consultants and that they will go on to train more than 1,000 other hospitality workers from August to October.

At the opening event, Minister of Tourism Thong Khon complimented the efforts of CATA to create this capacity building course to respond to current issues in the industry.

“It is true that the Covid-19 crisis has left many tourism experts out of a job. So it is necessary that we should strengthen their skills again after their long break during the pandemic and off-season,” he said.