DUMAGUETE CITY -- Stakeholders in the tourism industry in this city and Negros Oriental province are directed to comply with the Tourism Act of 2009 requiring all of them to be accredited with the Department of Tourism (DOT).
In view of the mandatory accreditation, DOT-Region 7 accreditation officers - headed by Judy dela Cruz Gabato, chief tourism operations officer - conducted mobile manual accreditation for applications coming from the primary tourism enterprises on Wednesday in this capital city.
Primary tourism enterprises include accommodation establishments, travel and tour services, and tour guides and transport services.
During the mobile accreditation, it was found out that only a handful of the local businesses are accredited with the DOT.
In fact, in Dumaguete City, only one hotel has been DOT-accredited out of the 118 hotels in operation; only four out of the nine transport operators; and only one out of nine freelance tour guides are registered with the DOT.
However, in Wednesday’s caravan, many responded among the facilities required to register with the Tourism department.
Gabato explained that “DOT region 7 wanted its partners in the industry to be updated about the progressive accreditation system that has three schemes - basic, regular and the premium-star-rated system.”
After the national online system was rendered inoperable, DOT Region 7 is reaching out to the province to conduct the manual accreditation. The next stop would be Siquijor and possibly, Bohol.
Once accredited, as a form of incentive, two shuttle buses for each of the accommodation facilities in the city and the province will be endorsed by DOT to the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) for exemption. These buses are used in shuttling guests from airports to their respective hotels.
Also, training will be provided for the staff on basic customer handling and housekeeping to upgrade their quality of service to the guests.
More importantly, an accredited establishment will have the opportunity to join travel and sales missions outside the country to sell their respective destinations and that DOT can endorse them to embassies as an accredited facility.
According to Gabato, “there are no complaints so far in Negros Oriental when it comes to service, but a number of complaints were lodged against travel agencies that are not accredited while some have engaged in fly by night travel agencies that don’t exist.”
She reminded business owners of the expiry dates of their accreditation, which is on June 30 for travel and tour operators and tour guides; and November 30 for accommodation facilities. She also called the attention of transport operators because April 30 was the deadline for their accreditation.
Provincial tourism officer Myla Bromo Abellana and Dumaguete city tourism officer Jacqueline Veloso Antonio were on hand to assist the mobile manual accreditation for the stakeholders to be guided with the standards and for the good of their business.
According to the two tourism officers, the usual things tourists look for are accommodation facilities and transport operators that are accredited with the department.
If the DOT seal is displayed in shuttle buses or vans and in hotels and travel agency offices, visitors would feel safe and secure, they said. (PNA)
