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Projects > Travelers Philanthropy to Community Projects/Local NGOs: Research & Possible Conference
Objective: Engage Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), Indigenous and Community-based Operations in Certification
Examine several certification programs specially designed to target SMEs and determine the main technical and financial challenges that these operations face in fulfilling certification requirements. CREST will be responsible for assembling already existing "best practices," codes of conduct, and other criteria designed to both protect the rights and respect the culture of indigenous and local communities involved n tourism, and it will develop a directory of organizations around the world that are involved in local/indigenous communities and tourism, as well as a bibliography of relevant literature. CREST will also examine the need for technical advice and financial assistance for small tourism businesses that are seeking certification, describing the most common technical and skill needs facing community tourism projects, and discuss possible funding mechanisms.
For these purposes, CREST will use online discussion forums and obtain information from ongoing studies on community-based tourism operations. At least one workshop will be held in each of the target countries (Costa Rica, Belize, Guatemala, Ecuador, Brazil) tailored to indigenous groups and community-based operations to finalize the assessment of the challenges of accessing certification processes.
With this information, CREST hopes to develop and field test, in coordination with the project coordinators, a set of sustainability criteria through consultations with indigenous organizations in Latin America and other key countries in other regions. A report will be produced with recommended strategies to foster SMEs' participation in certification processes.