White River, Mpumalanga, South Africa
I help governments, donor agencies, and training institutions 𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐠𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐝𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐬𝐤𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐬 𝐬𝐨𝐥𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 that strengthen tourism, hospitality, and agricultural sectors — driving sustainable employment and small enterprise development across Africa and Asia. For over 30 years, I’ve supported international development programmes that turn national policies and development projects into practical training systems and real results. My work combines deep technical knowledge of tourism, hospitality and TVET systems with a strong understanding of how people learn – applying this in a range of widely different contexts. My work brings together 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐠𝐲, 𝐜𝐮𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐮𝐥𝐮𝐦 𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐠𝐧, 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐪𝐮𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐬𝐲𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐦𝐬 to implement practical and workable skills development initiatives. Whether the goal is to train hospitality staff, upgrade tourism products, or align national skills systems, I bring international best practice adapted to each local context. Here’s how I help clients succeed: ✔ Design national strategies for tourism and hospitality skills development. ✔ Develop competency-based curricula, training manuals, and standards. ✔ Design competency-based curricula and training materials for TVET and non-formal learning. ✔ Build the capacity of TVET and training institutions to deliver world-class programmes. ✔ Strengthen institutions through training-of-trainers, dual training models, and quality systems. ✔ Support inclusive projects that empower youth, women, and small enterprises in tourism and agribusiness. ✔ Develop national and sector skills strategies that link education to employment. My approach is 𝐩𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥, 𝐜𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐜𝐭-𝐝𝐫𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐧. I’ve worked in nearly 20 countries with partners such as UN Tourism, Swisscontact, GIZ, SNV, and the International Trade Centre, helping translate policies and projects into measurable results. If you’re looking to design, strengthen, or scale tourism, hospitality, or skills development systems that deliver real results — let’s connect.
Lisa Gordon-Davis is a consultant specialising in two areas of work: tourism and hospitality, and education and training. She has over 20 years of experience working predominantly in Africa and South East Asia. Lisa has a proven track record in offering technical consulting services to intergovernmental agencies, donor organisations, NGOS, governments and corporates in nearly 20 countries.
Managing the High Impact Tourism Training for the Informal Sector (HITT) programme in two of the seven countries of this multi-country programme. Project focuses on various targeted occupations in tourism and hospitality, predominantly MSME (Medium Small and Micro Enterprises) such as Homestays, tourist drivers, local drivers, guesthouses and informal restaurants. Also the Global Technical Advisor to the programme, specialising in Innovative Curriculum Development and functioning as the Global Master Trainer on High Impact training methods. These methods are tested to be transferable to other sectors.
The GTTP SA is a national programme that supports the subject of Tourism in high schools in South Africa. This programme provides resources and support materials to teachers and learners of this subject. This position entails the management of the programme, fundraising, project management and engagement with the national and provincial departments of education and relevant industry and government partners.
Development and delivery of Responsible Tourism Development training programmes to Local Government Officials, industry and community representatives. Development of tourism plans for municipalities. Facilitation of training and consulting sessions with municipal stakeholders
Managed the project which was funded by the Government of Spain. Developed and implemented a range of projects in the Institute, including teacher training, bursaries, careers guides, resource centre, Responsible Tourism Development Training of government officials