From June 3-4, 2015, Kosovo hosted an AdventureEDU training program in partnership with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), Empower and REG (Regional Economic Growth) Projects, as well as the Swiss-funded Promoting Private Sector Employment (PPSE) Project.

The Kosovo AdventureEDU program was developed to meet the destinations’ readiness and desire to pursue the path of responsible travel, and by securing instructors directly from the industry.

The two-day training covered level one of ATTA‘s Business Management and Operational Excellence workshops. Around fifty participants from Kosovo, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Macedonia participated.

The workshop was facilitated by Jean-Claude Razel (founder of Alaya Expedições, Brazil) and Gordon Janow (founding member of Alpine Ascents, U.S.), as well as ATTA’s Gergana Nikolova, ATTA Development Lead – Europe.

Outcomes

The practical lessons learned in Business Management included:

• How to build a business model as a ground supplier within the Adventure Travel industry
• How to create and evaluate the sales structure for an Adventure Travel company
• How  calculate EBITDA, gross profit and net profit for the company
• How to validate the trip prices and overall tips for practicing sustainable tourism.

As a result of the two-day training participants gained awareness of:

• Experiencing a great training format – future model for any company or individual that provides training
• Understanding a clear picture of the tourism industry structure
• Building long, stable, and fruitful partnerships
• Sales pitching tips
• How to handle legal topics such as contracts and cancellation policies
• How to up-sell your products and stretch your marketing budget
• Overall discussions around communication, pricing, package building, contract closing, financial planning, and operational management were things that absolutely added value

“The event exceeded my expectations and though not inexpensive, it was money well spent.  I was really impressed with the quality of the presenters, Jean-Claude and Gordon – their practical expertise really made the difference and this was evident in participant reactions.  I have been through or sponsored a lot of training in development over the years, and this was one of the best. We are looking forward to the next installment.”

David T. King
Ph.D., Chief of Party, USAID Kosovo EMPOWER Private Sector Project.

“The two-day training organized by ATTA and USAID Empower project Kosovo, through which we received Adventure EDU training was incredibly helpful. Jean Claude Razel and Gordon Janow provided some of the best learned lessons out of this training. Their information was very practical and this, to me, is the most important information we can receive … info that can immediately be used in the field.”

Alban RAFUNA
CEO, Be in Kosovo – Tourism & Consulting

Before this training I was feeling satisfied if the sale of the product or activity managed to pay the guides, leave money in the local community, and leave something to organization facilities. We thought that we were breaking even. It was only after Jean Claud’s training, that I realized that we are actually losing units (money).

Bardh Sanaja
Environmentally Responsible Action Group

“This training went way better than what I expected!”

Chief of Party
USAID Empower Project