USAID Visit Tunisia's Pathways to Professionalism program has sowed the first seed of Hazoua's tourism sector transformation, with 25 employees trained in hospitality, including Ghreeb Experience staff. This initiative, supported by USAID Visit Tunisia, showcases a commitment to gender diversity, empowers unconventional trainees, and marks a historic shift from agriculture to hospitality in the region. Through additional grant support, technical assistance and partnerships, USAID Visit Tunisia is driving economic growth and hopes to prepare Ghreeb Experience and Hazoua’s trained businesses for the upcoming high season of 2024-2025.
Empowering Hospitality in Hazoua through USAID Visit Tunisia's Pathways to Professionalism
On March 9 and 10, USAID Visit Tunisia, through Pathways to Professionalism program, delivered on-the-job training to 25 employees in the bourgeoning tourism sector working in food production, catering, hospitality, and housekeeping in Hazoua, including Dar Hazoua, Resto Café Safir, and partners of USAID Visit Tunisia supported and created Ghreeb experience.
This training aimed to enhance local capacity to achieve industry standards in hospitality, health, and safety. Remarkably, 32% of the trainees were women, reflecting a commitment to gender diversity in a region with lower levels of women’s employment and participation in the tourism sector. These employees, composed of predominantly unconventional Pathways trainees due to their lack of previous training/experience in hospitality, exhibited great enthusiasm to implement the best practices learned in their day-to-day operations. And for the first time in the history of Hazoua, people were trained in hospitality—not in agriculture.
Empowering Innovation in Hazoua through USAID Visit Tunisia's Tourism Innovation Fund (TIF)
USAID Visit Tunisia’s support to this underdeveloped region began last year with the award of a grant to Bouchouicha Travel Services through the Tourism Innovation Fund (TIF). Under this activity, Ghreeb Experience was created as a cluster-based project bringing together interconnected businesses, suppliers, and related institutions in and adjacent to the tourism industry in Hazoua to create a new touristic offering that highlights the local culture and heritage and gives tourists an opportunity for a Saharan and Oasian camping experience only 45 minutes from Tozeur.
USAID Visit Tunisia’s grant support to Bouchouicha and their partners includes all aspects to create this new offering and allows the grantee to procure weaving materials, conduct training for women in textile, hospitality and cooking, as well as use palm products for a camping space to valorise palm waste. Additionally, the grant is supporting the creation of a touristic route and procurement of tents for Bedouin-style camping, and upgrading to more modern equipment (catering, photovoltaics, etc.).
Empowering Artisans’ Entrepreneurship through Tunisia’s Living Culture program
In parallel, USAID Visit Tunisia, through the Tunisia’s Living Culture (TLC) program, has been and continues to assist local Hazoua stakeholder ‘Creative Tent’ in developing arts and crafts workshops that preserve local cultural heritage.
USAID Visit Tunisia continues to act as a catalyst leveraging the synergies and collaboration within the cluster to develop the tourism experience, achieve shared goals and economic growth, and make Hazoua a destination for tourists. Ghreeb Experience is poised to become visitor-ready for the high season of 2024-2025, marking a significant milestone in Hazoua's tourism development.
Ghreeb Experience is developed in partnership with following esteemed local partners: Bouchouicha Travel Services, Creative Tent, the Association of Women and Heritage of Hazoua, Lina Camp, Beni Ghreeb Company for packaging organic dates and vegetables, the Youth Campsite of Hazoua, and Zgueyri Troop of Hazoua.
USAID Visit Tunisia produced and delivered to Ghreeb Experience for marketing purposes a comprehensive content package including high-quality photos and Reels, capturing the essence of the experience. PHOTO ©USAID 2024.
