Serbian Enterprise Development Project (SEDP)

The Serbian Enterprise Development Project (SEDP) is a USAID-funded program designed to strengthen the competitiveness of Serbian enterprises. The objective of SEDP is to increase product and service exports in order to achieve the ultimate goal of increased jobs, growth, and prosperity for the Serbian economy. 

In the tourism sector, SEDP has been working with the National Tourism Organization of Serbia (NTOS) and others in the industry to identify high potential opportunities for tourism. Under this remit, RFM were commissioned by SEDP to develop training resources and a training kit for trainers and stakeholders in the tourism industry.

Russell Ferguson of RFM embarked on a familiarisation trip to Serbia to gather first hand experiences and information on tourism in this area. Following further research and collating of information, RFM created six training programmes for use by local operators - managers and senior staff of local municipalities, tourism organisations, tour operators, managers of hotels and other accomodation providers, restaurants and local businesses that can offer souvenir products for retail. The modular programmes were:

- Marketing & Branding
- Customer Service
- Developing Trails & Greenways
- Sales Presentation Skills
- Understanding & Using the Internet
- Developing Promotional Materials

These programmes will be made available as an e-learning package which operators will be able to access online and it is anticipated that the availability of such material will stimulate the development of businesses within this growing tourist destination.

For the RFM Training division this was a unique and diverse experience which provided us with an absorbing insight into a developing industry in this country and presented us with the opportunity to help businesses move forward into international markets.

For more information on Serbia visit www.serbia-tourism.org
For more information on RFM bespoke training courses click here