Cererea sporită de produse turistice din Moldova și drept urmare creșterea fluxului turistic înregistrat în ultimii ani trebuie să fie luate în considerare în mod explicit de către jucătorii din industria turismului și ospitalității în ajustarea strategiilor la nivel de companie pentru a rămâne competitiv, având în vedere forța de muncă curentă.
Caracterul intensiv al forței de muncă din industria ospitalității, lipsa unei culture de instruire a personalului sunt provocări specifice acestui sectorul în Republica Moldova cât și la nivel mondial deopotrivă. Aceste provocări rebuie să fie abordate în mod constant și odată cu creșterea cererii turistice, au stat la baza estimării deficitului de competențe în Industria ospitalității din Moldova și pentru a oferi sesiuni de formare drept răspuns.
Conform obiectivelor programului Moldova Hospitality+ ce are drept scop primar implementarea programelor de evaluare, educare, asistență tehnică și transfer de cunoștințe în sectorul Ospitalității, Asociația Națională pentru Turism Receptor din Moldova cu suportul strategic al Proiectului de Competivitate din Moldova, finanțat de Agenția Statelor Unite pentru Dezvoltare Internațională (USAID), Suedia și UK aid a organizat prima sesiune de training în perioada 2-3 Decembrie, 9-10 Decembrie si 11 Decembrie. Această sesiune cât și cea din Ianuarie au fost planificate conform compilării și analizei datelor ca urmare a completării chestionarului de evaluare a așteptărilor reprezentanților industriei în vederea organizării sesiunilor de training. Operatorii din industrie au exprimat interes cu privire la 6 subiecte stringente: Tacticile și obiectivele specifice activității de Customer Service, Vânzări la recepție – oportunități de vânzare efective, Vânzări și Marketing – Planificarea strategiilor efective de marketing pentru hotel, Rolul strategic al cameristelor și a responsabilităților de control al calității în hotel, Managementul Food & Beverage, Reguli și sfaturi pentru un deservirea excelentă a Micului Dejun.
The growing demand for diverse tourist products from Moldova and the subsequent increase in tourist flow over the last years have to be explicitly considered by the tourism and hospitality industry players in adjusting the firm-level strategies in order to remain competitive, considering the current workforce.
The labor-intensive character of the Hospitality Industry, the general lack of training culture are sector-specific challenges worldwide and in Moldova alike, which have to be constantly addressed and with the increase in tourist demand, altogether gave grounds for projecting skills shortage in the Hospitality Industry from Moldova as well as to provide training sessions as a response.
As a part of Moldova Hospitality+ Program, which has the general aim to implement evaluation, education and technical assistance sub-programs in the hospitality field, National Inbound Tourism Association of Moldova (ANTRIM) with the support of Moldova Competitiveness Project, funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), Sweden, and UK aid has initiated in October, 2019, the assessment of the needs of the Hospitality Industry players with respect to the workforce skills shortage and skills upgrade. As a result of the expressed interest towards the organizing of industry-related training, six main stringent subjects and skills emerged:
For the sake of time optimization, the training period has been split into two training sessions: December (2nd-3rd of December & 9th-11h of December) and January (20th-21st of January & 27-30th of January).
The December Training Session started with a 2-day training (2nd-3rd of December) aimed to instruct the line-level employees to adopt the sense of welcoming in the customer service experience and to consider the impact of verbal and non-verbal communication clues on guest satisfaction. The procedures to handle complaints and improve the interaction with the guests have been communicated with the help of practical training through role playing. Essentially, the line-level staff have been delivered with the message about their importance in the entire tourism product delivery, as they are acting as Country Brand Ambassadors.
Further on, from the 9th of December until 10th of December, the effective sales techniques and procedures to be considered by the Front Desk Employees were communicated as well as the importance of good customer relationships have been discussed on the basis of win-win attitude.
On the last day of the training session, 11th of December, specialists working in the Sales and Marketing Department within a hospitality property have been advised about the integrated list of marketing actions to be considered in responding to international demand, pricing strategies and the actuality of sales relationships with online and offline tour operators.
Various representatives from Hospitality Companies (Regency Hotel, Zentrum ApartHotel, Thomas Albert Hotel, Weekend Boutique Hotel, Nobil Luxury Boutique Hotel, a.o.) as well as from Entities that have as part of the product the Tourism component (Purcari Winery, Chateau Vartely, a.o.) attended the courses. Hospitality players had the opportunity to network and share knowledge and experience about existing practices from the industry and discuss the common perspective about the overall industry performance.
The training session was led by Mr. Danilo Di Pasquale – owner of the Hotel Business Development Company “Suite24” who has over 20 years of experience in the Hospitality Industry, with sector-related acquired competences overseas, in regions like Italy, State of Qatar and Canada and in the Republic of Moldova including. The acquired hospitality work experience in Moldova is one of the key advantages in the delivery of the training given the understanding of the local industry particularities which has facilitated the tailoring of the training session to the existing tourism and hospitality product and actual market possibilities for improvement.
The January Hospitality Industry Training Session aims to provide insight in the Housekeeping Management Department and related procedures, the strategic role of Chambermaids, different ways to tackle the Restaurant Management challenges and the Suggestions for an Excellent Breakfast Service. The registration form is available at: https://forms.gle/vb6DFWwEeGrP15HN6.
This activity was elaborated at the initiative of the National Inbound Tourism Association of Moldova (ANTRIM) and supported by Moldova Competitiveness Project, funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), Sweden, and UK aid.