Projects in Peru - Tourism Development

Over the past four years Niagara College and the Instituto del Sur (ISUR) in Arequipa, Peru have been jointly developing and delivering short-term training courses intended to help economically challenged and marginalized individuals enter the tourism sector job market. 

The different components of the MISTI Project (officially titled the Entry Points for Tourism Project) embrace the principles and goals of being inclusive and proactive. They seek equal opportunities for women, greater cooperation and communication among all concerned (representatives of business, local and national government, educators, MASA and others) and greater participation of the poor, once they are trained, in the distribution of benefits deriving from the development of tourism activities in Arequipa. The project also strengthens ISUR’s institutional capacity and contributes in the long run to the sustainable development not only of Arequipa’s tourism sector but also of the national economy.

Cooking up a Business in Pastry and Catering was delivered in September 2008 to 21 participants; all except one of them were women.  In addition to learning techniques in baking and pastry, participants acquired fundamental knowledge required by successful entrepreneurs.  The hope is that some of them will take advantage of the series of workshops to be offered by the newly formed Centro de Emprendimiento y Negocios (CEN – Business Development Centre). The CEN offers business start-up consulting and other business incubation services, including assistance for project beneficiaries who contemplate a business start-up. 

Almost 500 individuals have taken advantage of the three-day training seminar “Conozco Arequipa", modeled after Niagara College’s “I Know Niagara” program.  This learning opportunity is now offered on a contract basis to groups of people who already work in some facet of the tourism industry.  These workshops are one of the ways that ISUR contributes significantly to raising awareness of the importance of tourism training in Arequipa.

In March 2009, ISUR hosted their first-ever Job Fair.  This event connected previously trained project beneficiaries with employers requiring additional personnel for the upcoming high tourist season.  ISUR is also now offering a Cultural Tourism Program – an educational travel opportunity for Canadians who want to spend four weeks or eight weeks learning about gastronomy and culture in Arequipa.  

For more information, please contact projects@niagaracollege.ca.

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