The Need for the Certified Tourism Ambassador™
Tourism is big business. Visitors spend money attending to business, touring attractions, or learning about the history of the area. This infusion of “new money” into the local economy often holds local tax increases at bay and gives the city extra money to enhance its infrastructure—making the destination more appealing over time. As a result, destinations spend lots of money courting convention and leisure travelers.
But in reality, no amount of money will make up for the visitor having a bad experience, which negatively impacts the destination's brand and overall image.
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Until the inception of this certification program, there was no consistent way to ensure that front-line employees and volunteers understood their role in increasing tourism by Enhancing the Visitor Experience™. |
About the CTA Program
• A ground-breaking nationwide certification program for front-line hospitality workers.
• Mobilizes a destination’s front line to turn every visitor encounter into a positive experience, thus creating a brand culture of quality service.
• Upon completion of all program requirements, front line employees and volunteers are awarded the Certified Tourism Ambassador™ (CTA) designation and may use the initials CTA behind their names, i.e., John Smith, CTA.
• Certification, unlike training, is ongoing and provides lasting value to the industry and the visitors and tourists it serves.
• The program is highly customized for each destination through six important phases:
Phase One – Research & Planning
Phase Two – Customized Program Development
Phase Three – Field Testing
Phase Four – Train the Trainer
Phase Five – Program Roll-Out
Phase Six – Ongoing Program Management
• The process of working through these phases involves key stakeholders in the development of the program’s Body of Knowledge, thus, engendering critical buy-in to the program’s success.
• The Tourism Ambassador Institute™ (TAI) is the oversight body that ensures a high level of program quality over time. The CTA designation is conferred by the TAI in cooperation with a Destination Marketing Organization (DMO), which can be a DMO, CVB, Chamber of Commerce, or other entity. These organizations agree to uphold certain standards of practice as a licensed TAI Accredited Provider.
• The program’s certification component, with annual renewal, strengthens the program in the eyes of the front-line workers and their employers and, as such, has lasting value over time to a city, region, and the nation as the program grows from city to city.
www.TourismAmbassadorInstitute.com
Please forward me the addresses as soon as you get them so I can go ahead and get all the reading materials mailed out.
Thanks so much and I hope you had a great Spring Break!
Whitney Clark, CTA | Program Manager | Valley Tourism Ambassadors Program | 1240 E Missouri Avenue, Phoenix, AZ 85014
tel 602.375.2996 | fax 602.375.1712 | valleytourismambassadors.com | ctanetwork.com
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