Grant program to help upgrade local tourism sector in time for ASEAN 2015

The Department of Tourism (DOT) and Asian Development Bank (ADB), with funding from the Canadian government, awarded grants to 26 businesses and associations from Bohol, Davao, Palawan, and Cebu as part of their "Improving Competitiveness in Tourism" project.

Conferred at the Radisson Blu hotel in Cebu on May 9, the Skills Training Development Support grants aim to "improve service delivery in tourism towards competitiveness and inclusiveness", DOT ASec. Allan Canizal said in a press briefing.

ADB principal economist Kelly Bird said the grants are meant to give the industry a way to train their workers and help them integrate into the ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) Economic Community (AEC) in 2015.

"We need to upgrade the kind of services we have. If we continue to do what we are doing right now, we might be overtaken by some other countries," said Canizal.

He added, "Tourists right now are becoming more discerning, and are more demanding on the type of experience they want. Workers in the tourism industry should be able to respond to that particular need of those new tourists."

In addition to skills training, Canizal said the DOT is also preparing the country for ASEAN's "Open Skies" agreement, which will liberalize air travel between member countries in 2015.
 
“The DOT, together with other relevant government agencies, is giving more emphasis in our air access, making sure that our visa policies become attractive for travelers to come in, and the cost of doing business is reduced so that more investment would come in,” said Canizal.

Currently, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, and Indonesia account for 8 percent of inbound traffic in the country. By 2016, the DOT hopes to increase that to at least 10 percent.

Another part of the DOT-ADB project will focus on regulatory impact assessment, which surveys policies and laws that directly affect the tourism industry.

"We found that there are a lot of rules and regulations that’s not very effective. Sometimes, it’s very costly to implement those rules and regulations, (and) they’re conflicting," said Shigeko Hattori, ADB director for Public Management, Financial Sector, and Trade Division in Southeast Asia.

By lowering the barrier of cost and reducing regulatory burdens on businesses, Hattori said more businesses could expand and develop. Bird said participation from the local government would help the private sector prepare better programs to help reduce their costs and attract more enterprises.

The country's hotel accreditation system will also be overhauled, in accordance with international standards. This way, Hattori said, hoteliers will understand how they may increase their star ratings and assure tourists of their hotel's quality of service.

“We have brought in international assessors (to) come in here and pair up with the DOT hotel assessors to go and assess those 150 properties with the new star rating system, and providing a direct knowledge transfer,” said Bird.

A total of $1.8 million was allocated to the skills development program, where 4,000 workers from the 26 grantees will receive training starting June.

Half of the trainees came from Davao, which had 13 grantees, while the rest came from Cebu (eight grantees), Bohol (five grantees), and Palawan (three grantees).

March and April saw 55 applicants through two screening process before the finalists were announced earlier in May:

• Bohol Association of Hotels, Resorts and Restaurants Inc. (BAHRR)
• The Bellevue Bohol
• South Palms Resort Panglao
• MetroCentre Hotel and Convention Center
• Amarela Resort Corporation
• Guide Union for Inbound Destination and Ecotourism (GUIDE), Inc. Davao
• OLANGO Island Ecotour
• Philippine Eagle Foundation, Inc.
• The Pinnacle Hotel and Suites
• Alegre Beach Resort and Spa
• Alpa City Suites
• Aziza Paradise Hotel
• Cebu White Sands Resort & Spa
• Waterfront Insular Hotel Davao
• Eden Nature Park & Resort
• Microtel Consortium
• Cebu Parklane International Hotel
• Samal City Resort Owners Association
• Waterfront Cebu City Hotel
• Puerto Princesa Palawan Tour Guide Association
• Marco Polo Plaza Cebu
• Villa Margarita Hotel Consortium
• Aquagem Travel and Tours
• Calamianes Association of Tourism Establishments, Inc.
• Cebu Association of Tour Operators
• Grand Menseng Hotel

Launched in 2013, the "Improving Competitiveness in Tourism" project was funded by the government of Canada to the tune of $7.1 million in technical assistance.

According to a statement, it aims to increase the Philippines' "ranking in the World Economic Forum Tourism and Travel Competitiveness index by at least 15 places from its 2011 position", and is set to run for 38 months, ending in 2016.

The Philippines ranked 94th out of 140 countries in 2011 and was at 82nd in 2013. — JDS, GMA News