Tourism frontliners, workers get free training

THE local government through the City Tourism and Investment Promotion Office (CTIPO) has conducted a Tour Package Development and Delivery Seminar to improve the tourism industry’s competitiveness.

A number of travel agencies and primary tourism-related establishments in the province were invited in the two-day training which started on November 18 at the Best Western Bendix Hotel in the City of San Fernando. The seminar was in partnership with the Department of Tourism (DOT)-Central Luzon.

San Fernando CTIPO officer Ma. Lourdes Carmella Jade Pangilinan said she recognized the importance of empowering the stakeholders in upgrading the standards of service that they give to tourists.

“Di naman natin makakaila na ang City of San Fernando ang puso ng Pampanga (We can’t deny that the City of San Fernando is the heart of Pampanga). We are the center of it. Most of the facilities nasa sa atin but some of the attractions wala sa atin (We have most of the facilities, but we don’t have some of the attractions). So, we can only move forward if we do it together, especially collaborating with other towns and municipalities,” she said.

The officer added she hopes for a collaboration with other municipalities to achieve greater success in the tourism industry of San Fernando and the province.

“We even invited yung mga karatig (neighboring) municipalities natin. So, after this training program, we hope na we will have more room to collaborate with them and support each other in marketing and promoting not only our city as a tourist destination but the whole province of Pampanga,” Pangilinan added.

Dr. Reynaldo A. Jorda, DOT master trainer, headed the seminar that covered topics on tour planning, branding, itinerary development, costing and pricing, and a workshop.

The seminar is part of the DOT’s Tourism Industry Skills Program (TISP) that aims to boost the competitiveness of the country’s tourism workers in terms of customer satisfaction and service standards.

The program is under the leadership of Mayor Edwin Santiago who wants to boost the city’s tourism capabilities, including “Kultura and Turismo” in his 10-point agenda.

Santiago said he envisions San Fernando as one of the leading destinations not only in the province but in the entire country. (PR)