Events graduation ceremony puts Jordan on professional roller-coaster

The first batch of professionals of the Event Management Certificate Program from the International Institute for Tourism Studies of George Washington University, were given their certificates in a graduation ceremony patronized by the Minister of Tourism Mr. Osama Dabbas deputizing for whom was the Secretary-General of the Ministery Mr Farouq Al Hadeed. The ceremony took place Tuesday 12, 2007 at the Royal Automobile Museum in the King Hussein Park.

Across-the-board tourism practitioners, including events producers, those working in tour operator offices, business owners and planners who want to see their careers expand in travel and tourism, enrolled in the program, which started in August 2006.

"The program was administered through the Jordan Inbound Tour Operators Association, and it was one more step to increase the professionalism of those working in event management and improve their professional standing," says Jordan Inbound Tour Operators Association's (JITOA) chairperson, Awni Kawar.

Local professionals who enrolled in the program later said that its course electives helped to equip them with new and better techniques of managing and organizing their work schedules more efficiently. The program included writing an extended assignment related to their everyday work.

The economic side of the program is clearly seen through its professional aspects, which included courses on best practices in event management, event coordination, risk management, events marketing, legal and ethical safeguards, meetings and conferences, corporate event management and trade show planning.

JITOA has been the driving force for the event management program, believing that with benchmarking and professional standards the Kingdom's tourism sector can develop significantly and attract more tourists to Jordan.

"As more of our local professionals take the program, they are increasingly being introduced to new ideas, concepts and techniques which they can practice in the work-place, and ultimately benefit the events management industry in Jordan," concludes Ahmad El Bashiti, CEO of JITOA, whose association represents tour operators specializing in inbound tourism to the Kingdom.

The Event Management Certificate Program in Jordan is supported by the USAID/Jordan Tourism Development Project (Siyaha), which supports the implementation of the National Tourism Strategy (2004-2010) that aims to double Jordan's tourism economy by 2010. USAID/Siyaha is currently implementing a number of tourism development programs in Madaba, Wadi Rum and elsewhere, and its most recently launched initiative is a national tourism awareness campaign that seeks to enhance local perceptions of tourism and the sector in general amongst the local population in Jordan.