57 Employees Receive certification
WILLEMSTAD – November 11, 2024 – Brazil is one of Curaçao’s primary markets in the South American region. In the first nine months of 2024, Curacao welcomed 31,802 stayover arrivals from Brazil, marking an 82% increase compared to the same period last year. In response to this growth, the Curaçao Tourist Board (CTB) took the initiative to again offer a Portuguese language course for tourism industry employees who have direct contact with Brazilian tourists. In the second edition, a total of 57 participants successfully completed the course, bringing the total number of certified individuals this year to 122. During a pleasant ceremony, graduates received their certificates from Mr. Raymond Jamanika, representative of the Ministry of Economic Development on behalf of the Minister of Economic Development, and Mr. Muryad de Bruin, CTB’s Managing Director.
The course was offered for 10 weeks, with sessions held twice a week. Mr. Márcio Hypólito Pinto, a Portuguese language professional from Brazil, served as the instructor. The course featured interactive sessions focused on phrase formulation, conversation, pronunciation, assignments, and tests to evaluate language proficiency. Participants expressed that the course exceeded their expectations, and they now feel more confident communicating in Portuguese with Brazilian tourists. Among the participants were employees from hotels, apartments, airport, immigration, customs, transportation, tour guiding, tourist attractions, diving, restaurants, and as well as CTB staff members.
It is essential for those in direct contact with tourists to have opportunities for career advancement as the market continues to grow. For this reason, the CTB continues to invest in language courses that help develop the communication skills of industry workers while simultaneously enhancing the overall tourist experience.
