SPTO offers innovative business training in Tonga

The South Pacific Tourism Organisation (SPTO) is holding a series of short, innovative tourism business training workshops aimed at Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in Tonga next month.

The series of six, hour-long workshops are being offered in conjunction with the Tongan Ministry of Tourism and New Zealand-based Learn.fast Centre on Wednesday 1st February in Nuku’alofa.

Topics to be covered include branding and marketability, Pacific tourism trends, increasing business profits, tourism marketing on small budgets, sustainable ‘best practices’ for small business; and crisis and risk management.

The next day, Thursday 2nd February, the trainer will be available to provide individual business coaching to trainees who require further assistance.

Each workshop is designed to inspire and motivate managers, owners and family members of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, which make up the bulk of the private sector in Tonga, to develop and build on their capabilities.

Participation costs for non-SPTO members is T$50 and T$25 (SPTO members) per person per workshop (with a maximum of two delegates per company). SPTO’s Private Sector Members pay a discounted rate of T$100 for five workshops or T$125 for six workshops. Non-members receive a T$50 discount off the normal price when attending five or six workshops, and can sign up to become an SPTO’s Private Sector Member by Tuesday 24 January to qualify for the member discount.

In launching the workshop, SPTO Chief Executive Officer Chris Cocker said: “The tourism sector in Tonga is projected to become the most significant economic sector by 2020 and Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises hold the most potential to drive this growth. SPTO is working closely with the Tongan Ministry of Tourism to provide essential business skills training to propel Tongan tourism businesses forward.”

“SPTO has designed these workshops to provide more value for money to our SPTO members and to provide benefits to the bulk of the tourism industry, which is the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises. This is the first time we have launched the power hour training with Learn.fast. If it is works in Tonga we will replicate these trainings in the other SPTO member countries as part of SPTO’s private sector membership offering.”

The training has been designed by SPTO and Learn.fast Centre and will be conducted by the founder and international director of Learn.fast Centre, Warwick McCormack, one of New Zealand and the Pacific’s top business coaches, with extensive experience in working with small, medium and large size companies in New Zealand and the Pacific Islands. McCormack specializes in strategic direction, marketing, sales, branding, entrepreneurial and innovative business approaches.

SPTO’s private sector members and other tourism industry stakeholders in Tonga are invited to participate.