From 18 to 20 July 2018, in cooperation with the Ministry of Primary Resources and Tourism of Brunei Darussalam (MPRT), ASEAN-China Centre (ACC) successfully held Chinese Language Training for Chinese Tour Guide Teachers in Brunei. With the joint efforts of relevant parties, the training programme had been a complete success.

To echo the 15th anniversary of ASEAN-China strategic partnership and ASEAN-China Year of Innovation, ACC made the training as one of the 2018 flagship projects and set up a systematic and detailed training programme accordingly. During the three-day training, Mr. Yuan Haoyong, Ms. Chen Rui and Mr. Jiao Yunhong, the three professors from Yunnan College of Tourism Vocation respectively delivered special lectures, focusing on the themes “The Introduction to Tour Guide in China”, “The Principle of Explaining Skill for Chinese Speaking Tour Guide”, “The Language Skill and Art for Chinese Speaking Tour Guide”, “The Use of Body Language in Tour Guiding” and “How to Deal with the Tourists’ Complains”. In the course of training, the lecturers adjusted the teaching plans according to the feedback of the participants to better meet the needs of the participants, laying a good foundation for the project in ASEAN countries in the future. At the same time, in order to enhance the actual effect of classroom teaching and improve the service level of the participants more specifically, ACC coordinated with MPRT to arrange sightseeing combined with language learning at Royal Regalia Museum, which is the Brunei Royal Souvenir Collection Museum and also one of the most popular and representative tourist attractions in Brunei. The activities have achieved good results. The participants expressed that this was the most professional, informative and practical training they have received in their career life, which was beneficial to their future work and helped them to provide better service for Chinese tourists.

Related leaders from MPRT also commended that with the increasingly close tourist exchanges between Brunei and China, the training programme was timely and beneficial for Brunei to manage and classify its tourism resources and upgrade service level. It was hoped that ACC could organize more of such kind of training in the future to promote the development of ASEAN-China tourism exchanges.

After the training, the certificate awarding ceremony was held. Ms. Kong Roatlomang, Director of Education, Culture and Tourism Division of ACC, and Ms. Salinah Binti Haji Salleh, Acting Director of Tourism Development Department of MPRT respectively presented the certificates to the participants and encouraged them to continue to contribute to the tourism exchanges between China and Brunei.

The three-day training programme provided a good platform for further improving Chinese language and service level of the practitioners in Brunei tourism industry. It also enhanced mutual understanding on tourism markets between the two sides and contributed to quality tourism development in the region.