Republic of Mauritius- Launching of second batch of Certificate in Tour Guiding

The Director General of the MGI and Rabindranath Tagore Institute, Mrs Soorya N. Gayan, the Ambassador of the European Union (EU) Delegation in Mauritius and Seychelles, Mr Vincent Degert, the Director of the Tourism Authority, Mrs Khoudijah Maudarbacus Boodoo, and other personalities were present.

A Memorandum of Understanding was also signed between the MGI and the Tourism Authority. The objective is to enable learners to develop and enhance skills, knowledge and professional conduct as tourist guides so as to improve their service quality.

In her address, Mrs Gayan emphasised that the MGI is dedicated to conduct the two-year part time course in Tour Guiding which will train students as ethical and committed ambassadors of the Mauritian culture. She also spoke of the importance of the course in raising awareness about environmental issues thereby developing students’ interests in sustainable tourism.

For his part, the EU Ambassador stated that in the face of climatic challenges, it is imperative to protect the environment as well as sensitise each and every one as regards environmental issues. Speaking about the course, he added that it will be beneficial for tour operators in their engagement in tourism development. He moreover reaffirmed the EU’s support in promoting a sustainable environment.

As for Mrs Maudarbacus Boodoo, she spoke of the commitment of the Tourism Authority to provide capacity-building programmes to tour operators so that they are formally trained to collect, organise, interpret and communicate sound information to tourists. She highlighted that the EU has awarded a grant to finance the implementation of the Switch Africa Green project Improving Sustainable Tourism in Mauritius through greening the value chain of tour operators, SUS-ISLAND.  To this end, she indicated that the Tourism Authority is providing 50% of the project grant for the Tour Guiding course. 

SUS-ISLAND project

The SUS-ISLAND project is designed to foster pro-handprint innovation in the tourism industry of Mauritius, which supports mainstream sustainable tourism for the mass market. SUS-ISLAND promotes sustainable tourism innovation for tour operators; destination management companies; hotels; taxi drivers; tour guides; handicraft makers; and pleasure craft operators.