As part of their annual Social Tourism Planning Day, the Secretariat for the Americas of ISTO met remotely with Chile's Servicio Nacional de Turismo (SERNATUR) on Tuesday 2 August.
The meeting was an opportunity for the 45 SERNATUR representatives convened by Francisca Retamal Wiedmaier, head of the Chilean Social Tourism Department, to meet the ISTO Americas team, composed of Verónica Gómez, director, Pierre Thirion, membership officer, and Morgane Durand-Cheval, project officer.
The first part of this training was an opportunity to present the various aspects of social tourism and its DNA in order to prepare the second phase of the training consisting in the identification of the different criteria fulfilled by SERNATUR as well as the highlighting of what remains to might be developed.
In workshop format, the participants were divided into five different groups moderated by the team of ISTO Americas and three members of SERNATUR, in order to reflect as a group on the DNA of Chilean social tourism programmes and how to strengthen them further. Afterwards, each group had the opportunity to take the floor and present the results of their collective reflection during a discussion moderated by the director of ISTO Americas. A rich moment of exchange was then created and allowed for the establishment of a free and objective discussion environment to wrap-up this 4-hour training session.
At the end of these enriching and dynamic working hours, SERNATUR representatives were more motivated and determined than ever, having enjoyed a dedicated learning time on their social tourism programmes.
