THE Provincial Tourism Office of Negros Occidental is pushing for the conduct of water safety trainings for boat operators and resort staff to further boost the local tourism sector.
Cristine Mansinares, supervising tourism operations officer, said they have partnered with the Municipal Government of Hinoba-an and the Philippine Lifesaving Society for holding of the three-day Basic Water Safety, Rescue and Lifeguarding Training at the southern Negros town starting Tuesday, June 27.
“This training will equip local resort owners, boat operators and boat men to further ensure the safety and security of our tourists and residents in key tourism areas with water-based activities,” Mansinares said.
The three-day extensive training program covers topics on survival skills.
On the first day, the participants will be oriented on the swim and survive training programs, standards of international water safety, emergency care, and sculling, among others.
Concept and overview of lifeguarding, lifesaving skills, rescue skills and survival strategies shall be included for discussion on the second day.
Topics for discussion on the last day will cover aquatic environments such as swift water and flood initiatives, and survival at sea.
Participants will also be equipped with knowledge on rescue skills, particularly swimming, rescue using small craft, searches, rescue of more than one person, team rescues, lifeguard challenge, and lifesaving qualifications.
At least 25 trainees from towns of Hinoba-an, Cauayan and Candoni, and Sipalay City will benefit from the first run of the program, which will eventually cover other cities and municipalities in the province.
The Department of Tourism in Western Visayas had earlier said that
Negros has mostly coastal cities and municipalities.
Tourism destinations in the island, especially in Negros Occidental, are also known for various water-activities like island hopping and waterfalls adventure, thus safety of the guests should be one of the top priorities of the establishments, the agency added.
