CTO introduces tourism curriculum for kids

Recognizing the
importance of tourism to the Caribbean, the Caribbean Tourism Organization is
focusing on the classroom to educate students on the role they can play in
tourism’s success.

Caribbean
students ages 6 to 11 have a new digital learning series designed by CTO to
build awareness of what tourism entails and its significance to the region.

The audiovisual
materials for primary schools include four e-workbooks, along with activities,
videos and fun facts about the Caribbean for use in the classroom by the
teachers and students.

For example, the
first question in the workbook for 6-year-olds asks: Who is a tourist? The
answer: A tourist is a person who travels for pleasure, health, religion,
education or sports and stays in places outside his or her usual environment
for at least 24 hours but not longer than a year.

Subjects covered
include why and how people travel, how to keep your country clean, jobs in
tourism, things to do and see in different destinations (24 island countries
are covered in the series) and tips on how to welcome a tourist.

“We began by
creating a series of physical workbooks and a tourism module for primary
schools, which were used in the past by many schools, but we needed to refresh
and upgrade our materials and present them in a colorful, creative and digital
manner that children would enjoy and which would help them to have better
recall,” said Bonita Morgan, CTO’s director of resource mobilization and
development.

The audiovisual
materials enable kids to focus on their country, view their country and the
region through the eyes of visitors and take pride in what the region offers as
tourism destinations, said Morgan.

The learning
series was launched at the Hillaby Turner’s Hall Primary School in Barbados.