Aquila Center for Cruise Excellence is linking tourism education with cruise industry standards, professional credentials, and practical training through partnerships with educational institutions. The organization’s programs draw on more than 40 years of tourism experience and decades of cruise operations.
Training is field-tested through Aquila’s operational Living Lab in Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada, which welcomes more than 178,000 cruise guests each season. Aquila is the exclusive training partner of the Florida-Caribbean Cruise Association (FCCA).
Developing a Workforce Training Model
Aquila is developing a workforce training model that connects tourism education with cruise industry standards, practical skills, and professional credentials. The organization’s operational exposure is used to translate lessons from the cruise guest experience into training programs for destinations and tourism professionals.
Beth Hatt, president of Aquila Center for Cruise Excellence, said: “If we want to strengthen the future of cruise tourism, we need to think beyond today’s operations and actively create pathways for the next generation to enter, understand and thrive in this industry.” Beth Hatt emphasized that bringing industry-recognized training directly into the classroom helps build confidence, develop practical skills, and provides students with a real pathway from education into the cruise and tourism industry.
One example of Aquila’s partnership is with Holland College in Canada. Through a hybrid pilot program, tourism students completed the internationally recognized Tour Guide Excellence Certification alongside their academic studies. The program combines classroom instruction with online learning, standard-driven written examinations, and video assessments.
Integrated Training Model
The integrated training model is designed to be adapted across tourism colleges in the Caribbean, Central America, and other markets. The model combines academic knowledge with industry-aligned skills that students can apply in the workplace. Aquila’s people-first approach is based on its operational experience, with guides developing careers spanning 10, 20, and more than 25 years.
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Aquila states that the development of the next generation of tourism professionals involves educational institutions as well as tourism authorities, ports, tour operators, cruise lines, and educators. They seek to establish connections between tourism education, employment, and industry expectations at an earlier stage of professional development. As they continue to expand their partnerships, it’s likely that more students will have the opportunity to gain practical experience and industry-recognized credentials, ultimately benefiting the cruise tourism industry as a whole.
They are helping to address the needs of the cruise industry by providing students with hands-on training and industry-recognized certifications. This approach benefits the students and the industry, as it ensures that the next generation of tourism professionals is well-equipped to meet the evolving needs of cruise guests.
Aquila’s efforts are focused on creating a strong foundation for the future of cruise tourism.
The organization is making progress in this area.
More students will have the opportunity to gain practical experience and industry-recognized credentials as they expand their partnerships.
Furthermore, the practical skills gained through these programs, such as storytelling and guest interaction, can be applied in various settings, from tour operations to hospitality services, allowing students to develop a versatile set of skills that can be valuable in multiple areas of the tourism industry.