Start of the 1st UNWTO.Volunteers mission within the ST-EP Programme framework
Alejandro Calvente, selected to participate as one the UNWTO.Volunteers in the 11 month project “Strengthening Tourism Destinations Communities in Quiche” arrived in Guatemala last February 23.
This project intends to promote an evolution from occasional support to community tourism initiatives towards a more structured vision that would improve its services, increase the conventional operators interest to promote and sell “community tourism” and increase the capacities and possibilities to receive technical and financial support .
Alejandro joined the project to support the immediate launch of tasks like the organization and implementation of the internship programme, the strengthening of community destinations in Quiché, the design and implementation of information mechanisms, the development of integrated tourism packages and writing-up reports, among others.
"Guatemala is a potential tourism destination and as a volunteer I am hoping to contribute to make tourism a tool so as to preserve its nature, to value its culture and to improve the living conditions of its population involved in the project I am collaborating with" Alejandro Calvente, UNWTO Volunteer.
This initiative is the result of an agreement between the UNWTO.Themis Foundation, through its Volunteers Programme and UNWTO’s Technical Cooperation Programme, that consists in integrating UNWTO Volunteers into the implementation of ST-EP projects in order to provide specific tourism development abilities and positively enrich the volunteers perception of the local and social reality.
