Guiding and Storytelling for an Impactful Ecotourism Experience

· July 20, 2023

Explore the roles of tour leaders and tour guides in all aspects of the ecotourism experience. Discover how to integrate thematic interpretation into guiding and tour leading to enhance ecotourists’ understanding of protected areas and cultural heritage.

About this course

The quality of interpretation, organization and tour leadership greatly influences the overall level of traveller satisfaction within an ecotourism experience.

Tour leading and guiding is where significant value is added to the core product components and is vital for achieving the conservation aims of the protected area. This course will focus specifically on thematic interpretation and the roles of tour leaders and guides, and draws from best practices within the adventure travel sector.

The course is designed to support park managers and inbound tour operators with the professional development of tour leaders and guides and is also suitable for them to access it themselves.

Course details

🕒 Start date: Anytime

🕒 Duration: 2-5 hours

📖 Course type: Self-paced

📖 Course includes: 7 modules

🗨️ Languages: English

Award: Certificate of Completion

Fees:     FREE

Registration: OPEN 

Who should sign up for this course?

  • Professionals working for Inbound Tour Operators, including Tour Leaders and Tour Guides
  • Professionals involved in protected areas management

 

What are the benefits of this course?

  • Discovering the importance of guiding and interpretation for ecotourism experiences.
  • Building skills in delivering a positive ecotourism experience through guiding and interpretation.

What will you learn?

  • The role of interpretation and leadership in ecotourism experiences.
  • The role of local guides vs tour leaders in all aspects of the ecotourism experience.
  • Better techniques for meeting the target market needs and expectations.
  • How to integrate thematic interpretation into guiding and leading roles to enhance ecotourists’ understanding of protected area and cultural heritage.
  • How to support professional development of tour leaders and guides.
  • How to foster effective interpretation and guiding techniques.

For a successful completion, participants must:

  • Finalise all modules and activities
  • Pass the final quiz

Who is leading the course?

This course has been designed by IUCN Centre for Mediterranean Cooperation and WWF Mediterranean with support from Training Aid and The Travel Foundation and taught by experts and practitioners in guiding and interpretation within the adventure travel sector.

During your learning journey, you will have support from the IUCN Academy team through the course platform.

Ecotourism course series

The MEET Network has created a series of four courses focused on ecotourism within protected areas. The graphic below outlines the suggested learning pathway tailored to different types of learners.

Refer to the graphic to identify the courses that are highly recommended, those that are considered optional, and those that might hold limited relevance for specific stakeholders. 

Course developed by:

Financial support from:

Technical support from:

Authors & Trainers

  • Mauro Randone – Coordinator of the Sustainable Blue Economy Programme, WWF Mediterranean
  • Beth Cobo – Founder, Trescàlia Travel Agency
  • Elton Caushi – Founder, Albanian Travel Agency
  • Ayako Ezaki – Director of Training Strategy and Development, Training Aid
  • Jasmine Stevens Wong – Training & Capacity Building Consultant, Jasmine Stevens Wong
  • Katie James – Project Manager, The Travel Foundation
  • Lucía Prieto Fustes – Ecosystem Resilience and Spatial Planning Programme Assistant, IUCN
  • Arnau Teixidor Costa – Ecosystem Resilience & Spatial Planning Programme Officer, IUCN
  • Daniela Casimiro – MEET intern, PhD Student University of Azores
Not Enrolled

Course Includes

  • 1 Lesson
  • Course Certificate