Press Release- The Calypso Train Tours Ltd, June 19th-
We at Calypso Train Tours are pleased to announce that tour guides Deland Gongora and Leticia Magana are the first to graduate from the Tour Guide Excellence Program, offered by Aquila’s Center for Cruise Excellence. The Tour Guide Excellence Program is an international certification program designed specifically to train Tour Guides in the cruise industry around the world.
Calypso Train Tours provides Belize City tours by open-air trolley train to visiting cruise ship passengers. “Providing international training promotes our Guides to deliver a new level of tour excellence,” says Calypso Train Tours Managing Director Denise Ockey.
“We are always thrilled when Tour Operators and Guides enroll in our Tour Guide Excellence program,” says Aquila President Beth Kelly Hatt. “In the cruise industry, the commitment of tour guides to earn their international certification is seen as a strong sign of a tour operator’s commitment to a standard of excellence in shore excursion offerings.”
Recognizing that Tour Guides are the single most important factor in the cruise guest experience, the Tour Guide Excellence program gives Tour Guides the opportunity to achieve International Certification in recognition of their qualifications and level of excellence. The primary objective of this program is for participants to learn exactly what makes an excellent Tour Guide and the skills to turn that knowledge into a practical reality when guiding cruise shore excursions.
There are now internationally certified Tour Guides in more than 14 countries, including Panama, Cozumel, Jamaica, Guadeloupe, St Maarten and Dominican Republic, to name a few. Aquila’s Center for Cruise Excellence’s certifications and designations are endorsed by the Florida Caribbean Cruise Association (FCCA). Through Aquila’s Center for Cruise Excellence, these offerings include training programs in the areas of Tour Operator Excellence, Tour Guide
Excellence, and Port Excellence, all designed to help the key players in cruise destinations around the world achieve excellence in their ports, tours, guides and businesses.
The Tour Guide Excellence training program is an online course, followed by a full assessment which includes a written exam and a video component. In order to obtain certification, a passing grade of 70 percent on both the written and video components is required. To learn more about the program, visit www.tourguideexcellence.com.
