By Moneth G. Deposa
Variety News Staff

NORTHERN Marianas College wants to offer a program that will develop qualified and well-informed tour guides who can provide worthwhile and meaningful educational and tour experiences for visitors and local residents.
Called the Tour Guide Training and Certification Program, the course aims to enhance the development of tour operators and guides who function in critical front-line roles in the visitor industry.
Yesterday, NMC Small Business Development Center director Eric Plinske, along with representatives from various agencies, held a meeting after they made a presentation at the governor’s office and the Legislature.
The program was developed in collaboration with University of Hawaii’s Dr. Kaleo Patterson.
Patterson said he supports the legislative effort to regulate the CNMI tour guide industry through various means, including a training and certification program.
“A quality tour industry, with high professional standards, is essential to the success of CNMI tourism and strengthening the well being of the fragile CNMI economy,” said Patterson, in his letter to the Legislature on March 8.
He said the front-line tour operators and guides play an important role in promoting and establishing high quality visitor experiences that are meaningful, and include dynamic cultural exchange, genuine community interaction, and new awareness and understanding.
“This role of representing the land, history, people, and many diverse cultures of the CNMI is a great privilege and responsibility,” he added.
According to Patterson, “The CNMI tourism industry is now at a critical point and we recognize that all of our frontline workers who are in direct contact with our visitors need to be supported, system-wide, through the development and implementation of a standardized CNMI tour guide education, training and certification program.”
Those who complete this new course will know about CNMI laws, directives, policies and rules which relate to tour guides and operators.
They will learn “cultural protocols and other aspects that are important when visiting sites.”
Short courses in history, CNMI flora and fauna and geology will be offered, as well as actual site field trips that will help tour guides show the beauty of the islands and their history.