Costa Rica receives award from OMT

by crv.staff
01.07.09
12:32 PM UTC

Filed in Costa Rica

The Committee of selection of the UNMTO Ulysses Awards 2009 of the World Tourism Organization (Organizacion Mundial de Turismo OMT) decided to give a special award from the jury for the Innovation in the Management Procedure in Tourism to the program in Sensitization in Schoolar Touristic Culture: “Adventure Costa Rica” presented by ICT.

The price was formally given to the country on May 27th during the official Award Ceremony of the international conference organized by the Committee of Education and Science of the OMT, in Madrid, Spain. This year the price has as title: “Innovation in touristic education”. The objective of the conference is to let people know about good innovation practices in touristic education as well as to show examples and practical cases in which innovative methods of tourism investigation and education have been implemented.

An OMT Consulting Committee Council of Education and Science form the jury that gives the award in the mentioned conference.

The Scholar Touristic Culture program, promoted by ICT’s Touristic Development Process, was looking to make student boys and girls of the first and second cycle, sensible to the importance of sustainable tourism, the responsibilities that a touristic activity implies, the contribution each student can make to help tourism from his or her community as well as to encourage the knowledge, understanding and value of touristic patrimony and costarrican traditions. The following participated in the program: Collaborators of Planning and Development, Marketing, and Cimat.

For the Tourism Minister, Carlos Ricardo Benavides, “this type of joint actions show the real desire of governmental institutions to awaken interest in our kids so they will learn, in a dynamic and fun way, about our country’s touristic attractions and become participants in the promotion and protection of national touristic patrimony.“

With the use of interactive material, a recreational focus and an accessible language, kids will be sensible about the importance of sustainability, national touristic activity, protection of natural resources and a good handling of liquid and solid waste. At the same time they will identify the compromise of all the people in the construction of a better country.