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New Lao Website Paves the Way to ASEAN Tourism Standards
The Lao travel industry has received a boost, with www.imct-training.gov.la recently going live and offering free downloadable training resources, in Lao language, to increase the use of ASEAN competency standards by tourism businesses, trainers and institutions. Photo: Lux-Dev Project LAO/029 “The website also aims to raise awareness and provide the latest information on training opportunities delivered by the Institute of Mass Media, Culture and Tourism (IMCT),” said the institute’s Deputy Director Darany Phommavongsa. She pointed out that training materials are now available in Lao language for 120 of the ASEAN Common Competency Standards for Tourism Professionals (ACCSTP). They include PowerPoint presentations, trainer manuals, trainee guides, and assessor manuals. “The ACCSTP standards are a set of agreed upon competencies that are expected from a range of common employment positions across the tourism and hospitality industry,” Deputy Director Darany noted. “The website presents ACCSTP training resources for training providers to freely download and use to improve their own training programmes and align them with ASEAN standards.” She explained that businesses within the tourism and hospitality sector have different training needs, and can therefore choose which of the Standards are most relevant to them. “The 120 standards cover a whole range of subjects in both technical and theoretical subjects, along with specific English language training units,” Deputy Director Darany said. The IMCT also provides a range of training courses throughout the year across many different provinces, and according to Deputy Director Darany, “The new website will be used to help inform businesses of upcoming training opportunities and provide them with an easy way to register their interest.” She also highlighted other recent IMCT achievements. “With the support of the Skills for Tourism Project, the IMCT delivered trainings in Vientiane Capital and seven provinces during 2019, expanding the knowledge of more than 400 people from the private sector.” The Deputy Director added, “Working with the Ministry of Education and Sports, we also trained 35 TVET (National Technical Vocational Education and Training) teachers as ASEAN National Trainers and Assessors during 2019.” For 2020, “The focus will be on rolling out the China-Ready training programme recently piloted in Vientiane, along with further training sessions on Customer Service and good HR practices under our Employee Life Cycle Programme.” The translation of the ACCSTP into Lao language was supported by the Skills for Tourism Project • LAO/029, which is co-financed by the Governments of Lao PDR, the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, and implemented by the Ministry of Education and Sports of Lao PDR and the Luxembourg Development Cooperation Agency (LuxDev). To visit the IMCT Training site, click here. To learn more about the Skills for Tourism Project • LAO/029, click here.
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Cruising to Help
Shompoo Cruise regularly navigates the Mekong between Luang Prabang and Houay Xay, and stops at Ban Tang Sa, a remote village the business supports. Recently Shompoo brought the village kids a surprise. “This village is quite poor and as it’s difficult to get to,” said Shompoo Cruise Co-founder Alex Chitdara. “We are supporting this village by taking our guests and returning to the village 3% of our profits, he said.” “Today, we delivered clothing and school supplies to the village and its schoolhouse,” Alex noted. “The children were delighted and our guests were happy to participate and get a glimpse of Lao life off the beaten track.” Visit Shompoo Cruise.
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T’Way Air Adds Daegu, Korea – Vientiane Service
Korean low-cost carrier, T’way Air, launched a twice weekly flight between Daegu and Vientiane on 26 December. The flight, on board a Boeing 737, operates on Sunday and Thursday, with TW133 departing the Korean city at 08:30 and arriving in Vientiane at 12:00. The turn-around flight TW134 leaves the Lao capital at 12:50, and lands in Daegu at 19:15. According to the airline’s website, one-way “Smart Fares” generally run between USD200-280, while the “Normal Fare” is USD460. The route will operate under this timetable until 1 March 2020. T’way Air
