$7.1-M ayuda matatanggap ng DOT

MANILA, Philippines - Makakatanggap ng $7.1 milyon ang Department of Tourism (DOT) mula sa Canadian International Development Agency na gagamitin upang mapabuti ang industriya ng turismo sa bansa mula 2013 hanggang 2016, ayon sa kagawaran ngayong Miyerkules.

Sa ilalim ng programang Asian Development Bank-CIDA Technical Assistance on Improving Competitiveness in Tourism, bibigyan ng pondo ang DOT upang magsagawa ng pagsasanay para sa mga pribadong sektor, local government units, civil society at mga ahensya ng kagawaran.

Kabilang sa proyekto ang paglulunsad sa unang pagkakataon ng bagong accreditation system at pagpapabuti sa standards for service quality.

Sinabi ng DOT na gagawin ang mga technical assistance sa Cebu, Bohol, Palawan at Davao.

Layunin din ng programa na gumawa ng mga trabaho at mabigyan ng kakayahan ang lokal na gobyerno na makaakit ng mga investor sa pamamagitan ng turismo.

“While we continue to receive recognitions from global organizations and publications, the challenge for all of us in the tourism sector is to ensure that the promise of fun is complemented on the ground with competitive physical and social infrastructure: from our products to the cost of doing business and human resources. This gesture of the Government of Canada and the ADB is a recognition of the role of tourism as a key driver of economic development in the country," pahayag ni Tourism Secretary Ramon R. Jimenez, Jr.

Dagdag ni Jimenez na magkakaroon ng tatlong produkto ang programa sa loob ng apat na taon: regulatory review, service standards improvement at skills development.

“This comes at an opportune time when we need to scale up the development of tourism towards our bid of 10 million international visitor arrivals and 56.1 million domestic travellers by 2016. We should be ready to improve the tourism plant and enhance the quality of our services to ensure higher visitor satisfaction levels, which will trigger word-of-mouth marketing. Through this undertaking, the Philippines will be more competitive with the rest of the destinations in the Asia-Pacific,” sabi ni Jimenez.