The new Certified Tourism Industry Professional program was announced at the New Jersey Conference on Tourism, being held at Hard Rock Hotel Casino in Atlantic City Dec. 1-2.
The program is scheduled to launch in January and includes four core courses and a series of electives. All are available online. Participants can work at their own pace, taking individual courses or earning the certificate by completing the full series.
This program will give employees in the hospitality and tourism industry the skills necessary to advance and succeed in an evolving market, LIGHT Faculty Director Jane Bokunewicz said. Our partnership with the NJTIA ensures participants are learning the skills that area businesses are looking for.
The core courses are Marketing and Brand Identity, Economic Policy and Sustainability, Strategic Planning and Assessment and Leadership. Electives include Experiential Tourism, Wellness Tourism, Social Media Marketing, and The Cannabis Industry: Understanding the Opportunities. Faculty include Stockton professors and industry professionals.
Lori Pepenella, president of the NJTIA and CEO the Southern Ocean County Chamber of Commerce, said they are excited to offer professional development tailored specifically to the tourism industry.
We believe this program will be an asset moving forward to best prepare for a new way of doing business in the 21st century, Pepenella said. Not only does this certificate provide industry and peer recognition, it delivers convenient, engaging online course work paired with an annual conference session, incentive for talent retention and a value to our members.
The cost of the program is $200-$800 per class and $4,000 to $4,400 for the entire certificate.
The CTIP program is part of a new series of LIGHT certificates being offered at Stockton in collaboration with the Office of Continuing Studies. A new Certificate in Strategic Digital Marketing is also scheduled to launch in early 2022.
More information is online at Stockton.edu/light
