Online Certificate Course on Sustainable Tourism Project Management

Sustainable Tourism Context: Travel and tourism constitutes one of the most important forces for global economic activities and development opportunities. At the same time, the diverse and cross-cutting nature of tourism means various threats and challenges posed by seasonality, climate change and socioeconomic and geopolitical instabilities, adding significant challenges for project managers in the tourism sector. A common framework for co-operation and partnerships for public, private and community stakeholders, PM4SD is tailor made for this unique sector and focuses on planning and delivering benefits beyond the project life cycle for all stakeholders. Methodology: The PM4SD methodology is dedicated to delivering long-term benefits beyond the project life cycle for all stakeholders - national governments, destination marketing bodies, tour operators and service providers, owners of tourism infrastructure and transportation as well as host communities. Enabling both a top-down and bottom-up approach, PM4SD complements processes and guidelines such as the Global Sustainable Tourism Criteria (GSTC) and the European Tourism Indicators System (ETIS). PM4SD Training: PM4SD training helps project managers and industry stakeholders improve their tourism management skills and enhance sustainability performance, and is especially relevant for project managers, policy makers, tourism organizations as well as associations, governments, construction managers, universities, training organizations, NGOs, researchers, students involved in small, medium and large tourism development projects. Certification: Those who successfully complete the PM4SD training and exam are awarded the internationally-recognized qualification as a Project Manager, with a certification issued by APMG International, verifying the certificate holder’s ability to: - Understand and learn how to design and implement tourism projects in line with sustainable tourism policies and practices. - Utilize a range of tools and techniques to be used for successfully managing projects. - Effectively manage project teams’ tasks and responsibilities. - Apply knowledge related to sustainable tourism to design innovative projects. - Apply internationally recognized sustainable tourism indicators and criteria to support project objectives. PM4SD training consists of two levels: Foundation and Practitioner. The Foundation training is designed to provide participants with knowledge and understanding to work effectively within a project management team to successfully deliver a sustainable tourism project. The Foundation level training is a prerequisite for the practitioner certification. The Practitioner training is designed to equip participants with the skills to manage and deliver a sustainable project using PM4SD. Those who have passed the PM4SD Practitioner examination are officially registered as a "PM4SD Practitioner", which they can promote on their business cards and professional profiles. TrainingAid, FEST and Jlag will offer two Foundation-level online training courses in 2018 (scheduled for February-March 2018 and May-June 2018), and a Practitioner-level course will be planned for late 2018 (to be announced). While the importance of sustainable tourism has been receiving increased recognition in recent years, too often, funding for delivering sustainable tourism projects has been spent without achieving any substantial results. Some of the key reasons behind project failures include: - Lack of a solid needs analysis. - Poor planning and project design. - Inadequate monitoring and evaluation mechanisms. - No integration of planning the delivery of benefits. The methodology of PM4SD has been developed to empower project managers, policy makers and entrepreneurs with tools and techniques to better plan and manage funding and investment in the tourism context, and to overcome these challenges. Through the PM4SD online course, sustainable tourism practitioners will be equipped with proper knowledge and tools to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of their projects, and be empowered to use tourism as a positive force for social, economic and cultural change.