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Friday, June 23, 2006
DOT develops training to improve tour guides’ service
For foreign tourists who don’t speak the local language, the holiday is often only as good as their tour guides. Going by feedback from Japanese tourists, Cebu’s guides have their work cut out for them.
That’s why the Department of Tourism (DOT) is organizing a training program, scheduled for October or November, for Japanese-speaking tour guides in Cebu, said Rosvi Gaetos, head of the tourism de-partment’s Team Japan, during the Tourism Congress yesterday.
“Let Cebu be known not only for its beaches, but also for its unparalleled service,” Gaetos said. If limited resources keep us from costly infrastructure projects for now, at least industry players and the DOT can focus on professionalizing front-line services, including tour bus drivers and guides.
Quoting a DOT-commissioned survey, Gaetos said that most Japanese visitors to Cebu found most of the guides “too familiar, almost impolite.”
Limited
They also asked why some of the guides displayed only a “spotty” knowledge of Cebu’s heritage, showed limited crisis management skills and, in some cases, went for under-the-table deals, she added.
DOT 7 Director Patria Aurora Roa admitted she was “put on the spot” the first time she heard the reactions earlier this year, but encouraged the tour guides to learn from the feedback.
“Akala ko magaling na tayo (I thought our service was already good),” she told participants during the open forum. “But let’s accept this feedback. Let’s recognize that we may be too informal for them. Let’s take this feedback for what it’s worth.”
Japanese arrivals in Cebu have dropped from some 127,000 in the year 2000, to some 88,000 from January to September 2005. But an economy on the rebound has also brought more Japanese tourists to the Philippines this year, with arrivals from January to April about 13.3 percent higher than in the same period last year.
Drivers
Tourists from Japan, China and Korea are driving the industry’s growth, Gaetos reported. Japanese divers recently voted the Philippines one of their top three destinations worldwide.
But the DOT now wants to attract some of the seven million independent Japanese women who have traveled abroad, as an emerging market, particularly for wellness tourism.
Apart from working on service improvements, the DOT is also pushing for more flights and has welcomed the Philippine Airlines’ reported plan to reopen the Osaka-Cebu flights and possibly a Nagoya-Cebu flight within this year or the next.
Gaetos challenged Cebu’s travel industry to overcome the island’s “uni-dimensional image” among Japanese tourists. “They see Cebu in terms of its beaches, and so they plan for stays of no longer than three days. They can’t think of what else to do in Cebu for two weeks,” she said.
To capture a resurgent travel market in Japan, Cebu will have to expose tourists to unique activities like festivals, as well as the island’s cultural heritage. It also needs to work on providing better roads and accessibility.
A region-wide shortage of rooms can be addressed, for now, by encouraging locals to set up budget or boutique hotels, serviced residences and properties located close to heritage sites.
“Location is now more important than the hotel’s brand,” Gaetos said. “And this gives places like Cebu and Bohol a better chance against Bali and Phuket, which are known for their luxury hotels.” (IDA)
For Bisaya stories from Cebu. Click here. (June 23, 2006 issue)
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