LINGAYEN, Pangasinan -- More tourism industry workers here have been trained as tour guides after attending a recent seminar and training on knowledge and practical skills in community tour guiding.
The community tour guiding seminar held from July 31 to August 6 organized by the Provincial Tourism and Cultural Affairs Office in partnership with the Department of Tourism (DOT)–Ilocos Region accommodated 32 tour guide protégées from various parts of Pangasinan.
"The happy industry workers and Pangasinan tourism partners – newly graduated tour guides – reinforced the province’s aggressive tourism promotions agenda,” said Provincial Tourism and Cultural Affairs Office (PTCAO) officer Malu Elduayan.
Tour guiding services have become in-demand, following the influx of more tourists in Pangasinan frequently visiting various tourist spots of the province.
In the 2017 state of the province delivered by Governor Amado Espino, III, he said Pangasinan posted 8.78 million tourist arrivals in 2016 which surpassed the 2015 data of 6.75 million.
The top three most visited tourist destinations in Pangasinan are the Provincial Capitol Complex in Lingayen, Minor Basilica of Our Lady of Manaoag, and the Hundred Islands National Park in Alaminos City.
The DOT-Ilocos Region supervising tourism operations officer Evangeline Dadat said the seminar also included the “DOT accreditation procedure” for tour guiding.
“Anyone who will pass the written exam, practical guiding, walk tour, and mock tour on board a bus gets accredited,” Dadat said.
Some resource speakers and trainers from the tourism industry included DOT–Asean trainer Enrique Esguerra and DOT-Ilocos Region trainer Rey Jorda.
Newly-accredited tour guides are sent mostly by private organizations, local government units, and the PTCAO.
Prior to the community tour guiding seminar, Pangasinan had only less than 20 tour guides. (PNA)