Visiting cruise ships, packed with tourists from all corners of the world, can bring in millions to a local economy.
Launched last year, the ‘Celtic Wave’ project saw six Irish Sea ports join forces in a bid to attract more cruise ship passengers and boost their respective economies. The €1.2m project is a partnership between the port destinations of Anglesey, Milford Haven, Swansea, Dublin, Waterford and Cork.
Now the project is offering residents, living in and around its three participating Welsh areas, an opportunity to train as an official ‘Celtic Wave Tourist Guide’.
Celtic Wave Project Manager, Sue Thomas, explained, “We’ll be providing a unique part-time course which will enable successful candidates to gain an accredited ‘Green Badge’ qualification in Tourist Guiding.
“Those who complete the training programme will have a foundation in guiding, allowing them to become self-employed guides as well as ambassadors for their respective areas and the Welsh cruise ship industry.”
She added, “The Irish Sea offers six fantastic destinations to cruise lines, each with their own unique selling points in terms of heritage, culture and attractions. As well as forthcoming training programmes, the Celtic Wave project is also continuing to focus on raising awareness within local communities about the economic benefits cruise ships can bring.”
The training course will be delivered by Llandrillo College in each of the three Welsh destinations over one day per week for 24 weeks and will begin in October 2010. Priority will be given to those fluent in languages other than Welsh and English and successful applicant will be given a high level of tutor and tourism industry support.
The course will be funded through the Interreg 4A programme with European Regional Development Funding (ERDF).
If you’ve got the drive and ambition to succeed as a self-employed Tourist Guide for your region, contact Nia Rhys Jones on 01492 546 666 (ext 249) or email: [email protected] for an application pack. Closing Date for applications is Friday August 13th 2010.
