AECO – Association of Arctic Expedition Cruise Operators in collaboration with IAATO – International Association of Antarctica Tour Operators, were planning on developing new polar field staff training standards for the expedition cruise industry later this month. The meeting that was supposed to take place in Iceland has now been postponed because of the COVID-19 situation.
The objective of this project was and still is to define the minimum level of training and qualifications field staff working in the expedition cruise industry should have to conduct various tasks, and to be responsible for different parts of the field operations. The standards will be implemented in both AECO and IAATO with the objective of making them mandatory for our members.
The meeting will take place later with the aid of a virtual meeting platform. AECO will continue our efforts to ensure considerate and sustainable tourism through the development of tools for the future. Training and staff competences is one of the areas that we see as the most crucial to our industry.