Tourism service norms for micro businesses set for major upgrade

THE Department of Tourism (DoT) said it is planning to upgrade service standards for micro-sized companies in the industry with the aid of other agencies.

Tourism Secretary Maria Esperanza Christina G. Frasco said in a statement over the weekend that a technical working group (TWG) is currently working on a plan to improve the capacity of micro entrepreneurs engaged in tourism.

“We are facilitating this TWG for the purpose of commencing discussions on the implementation of standards to ensure high quality of tourism services which include regulations on accommodations, services, and pricing standards,” Ms. Frasco said.

Ms. Frasco proposes to include in the TWG the Departments of Trade and Industry (DTI), Interior and Local Government (DILG), and Agriculture (DA), as well as the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR).

She said the DoT is offering training sessions under the Filipino Brand of Service Excellence (FBSE) umbrella.

The FBSE program aims to “enhance and uplift the quality of services aimed at fostering excellent service to tourists as part of our distinct Filipino brand.”

The FBSE program offers modules in service excellence, understanding and engaging customers, and complaint handling.

“The training for the tourism community in Virgin Island, Bohol will commence next week,” Ms. Frasco said, following an incident of alleged overcharging by food vendors there.

The trainings “will be open to all interested tourism stakeholders, and will be facilitated by the DoT Office of Industry Manpower Development together with the DoT Region 7 Office in coordination with the local government units,” she added. — Revin Mikhael D. Ochave