Samar river tour frontliners get boost

Photo from DOT-Eastern Visayas
Photo from DOT-Eastern Visayas

AT LEAST 29 tourism frontliners for the new Basey Golden River Cruise program in Basey, Samar received Filipino Brand of Service Excellence (FBSE) training from the Department of Tourism (DOT) in Eastern Visayas.

DOT Regional Director Karina Rosa Tiopes said the two-day training would provide participants with the unique tourism showcase and activities that tourists will experience in their visit.

“They have to make the Filipino Brand of Service Excellence their way of life and be proud of who and what they are. If you want to be proud of your Basey and Samar’s cultural heritage and tradition, you have to make sure that you will show the best of what you have each time a tourist arrives in your place,” Tiopes said.

“This river cruise is not the same with other tourism experiences. Here, you will welcome your guests to your very own communities, share facets of your daily life, and narrate your story as a people,” she added.

The 29 participants were from the villages of Del Pilar, Magallanes, Burgos, Binongtuan, Basiao, and Guirang, the identified areas for the river cruise immersion program.

“The FBS is a program designed by the DOT Office of Industry Manpower Development to represent the positive aspect of Filipino hospitality, promoting service excellence in all tourism-related establishments catering or dealing with domestic and international tourists,” Tiopes said in a statement.

According to the regional tourism director, the river cruise program “develops a network of river tourism products as major tourism offering to promote economic development to communities along the river.”

Throughout the two-day training, participants were taught the 7 Ms of Filipino values (Maka-May Likha, Makatao, Makakalikasan, Makbansa, Masayahin, May Bayanihan, May Pag-asa), the Guest Technique, the Heart Method, the Mabuhay and Salamat Gestures.

The Golden River Cruise of Basey town starts in Binungtuan village then will proceed to Burgos for a cultural showcase.

Guests will also get the chance to learn Eastern Visayas’ traditional dance of kuracha.

From there, the group will move to del Pilar village for a tuba preparation demo and tasting.

After the demo and refreshment, they will cruise to Guirang to meet the Mamanwa tribe to interact and witness their tribal performance.

After an hour in Guirang, they will have lunch at Mabaysay boat while cruising back to Binungtoan.

After lunch, they will proceed to Saob Cave to experience mat weaving.

The group will then move to Magallanes for the mini operetta, then to the town proper of Basey for a heritage tour.

Basey town is the second-largest municipality in Samar province and home to Sohoton Cave Natural Bridge National Park.

The town also takes pride as the “banig” (mat) capital of Eastern Visayas.

The Golden River of Basey is a 19-kilometer flowing watercourse with Sohoton River as one of its tributaries and the former nautical highway of 15 communities located along its riverbank.

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