ISLAMABAD, Mar 31 (APP): A two-week training workshop organized by the Pakistan Tourism Development Corporation (PTDC) to improve the knowledge and skills of tour guides about tourist destinations, tour group management, communication skills, and professional handling of all the aspects of tours, customer service and operational best practices, concluded here on Friday.
About 24 trainees from different parts of Pakistan participated in the First National Tour Guide Training Programme, which commenced on March 18 in collaboration with the Department of Tourist Services (DTS), Sustainable Tourism Foundation Pakistan (STFP), College of Tourism and Hotel Management (COTHM), Pakistan Association of Tour Operators (PATO) and Legend Hotels, a news release said.
International and national trainers and experts of the tourism industry conducted the training. Certificates were distributed among the trainees at the successful conclusion of the training.
Speaking on the occasion, PTDC Managing Director Aftab ur Rehman Rana congratulated the participants on completing the training programme.
He said there was a shortage of trained tour guides in Pakistan, and to fill that gap, the PTDC had launched a National Tour Guides Training Programme. Under the initiative, some 1,000 tour guides from all over Pakistan would be trained in one year, and for the purpose, the PTDC would organize a series of tour guides training workshops in all the provincial capitals in collaboration with provincial tourism departments and the private sector.