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Bread oven in village of Socorro, Siguatepeque,
Honduras
The oven can become a central theme for organizing a tourism
experience in rural Honduras. |
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Consulting Services
Institute associates apply their expertise in tourism development, hospitality
management, information management, facilities planning and design, rural
sociology, and community development to assist individuals and communities
successfully build and manage integrated rural tourism enterprises. We
focus on product development, marketing, infrastructure assessment and
design, and service excellence. We facilitate the development of Enterprise
Associations which consist of individual community enterprises seeking
to enter the tourism marketplace. These individuals work together as an
association in all phases of the tourism development and delivery process
in order to establish a presence in the marketplace.
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| Integrated Rural Tourism Product Development
The Institute works with communities and individuals to
identify and develop thematic toursim experiences which are based on the
strengths and unique characteristics of the target area. We begin with
a process of defining the core assets that tell the story of the community
using the key components of integrated rural tourism. The process begins
with a core group of interested community members, but soon reaches out
to include elders of the community and key stakeholders who can help answer
the question, "what makes the story of this rural area unique?"
By the end of the process, an Enterprise Association or individual enterprise
will have a menu of thematic products that tell the story of the target
area by integrating the key components of the integrated rural tourism
model. These products will be ready for delivery to the market and will
include pricing structure, promotional materials, appropriate visitor
management systems, and a marketing strategy.
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| The owners of a bread oven in the village
of El Rincon, Honduras, bake bread weekly for the villagers.
They benefit from tourism development by becoming part of the
tourism product while the baking process becomes part of the
touristic experience. Visitors participate from start to finish
in the baking process, beginning with gathering wood in the
forest and ending with delivering freshly baked bread to the
villagers. |
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| The story of basket making in Tonga can become
the organizing theme for an integrated rural tourism experience
by weaving together the ordinary life patterns of the Tongan
peoples. |
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Marketing Services
Marketing is among the greatest barriers to successfully
integrating tourism into rural communities. The Institute is designed
to act as the marketing arm for integrated rural tourism enterprises and
destinations. It offers a wide array of marketing services including market
intelligence gathering, promotional materials design, strategic marketing
planning, website design, and a direct link to the consumer seeking an
integrated rural tourism experience through our website.
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