Tourism Congress to take career fair to Visayas, Mindanao

WITH EMPLOYMENT opportunities in the tourism industry growing, the Tourism Congress of the Philippines (TCP) is taking the industry’s first ever jobs fair to Visayas and Mindanao regions this month.

TCP Executive Vice-President Aileen Clemente said they are bringing at least 30 tourism related companies to their Tourism Career and Hospitality Fair (TCHF) in Cebu and Davao.

“There will be hotel chains and resorts opening or are now expanding their operations. The country has a growing middle class. And beyond our top markets abroad, the country is welcoming tourists from more European countries, the Middle East, and India,” Ms. Clemente said.

She added,“This is the best time for Filipinos to become part of the country’s tourism industry. Instead of going abroad, we are seeing competitive career opportunities locally.”

Ms. Clemente explained that career opportunities extend beyond Metro Manila and that a lot of the tourismrelated developments are moving to the southern part of the country.

The jobs fair which will take place at the Cebu Trade Hall on Nov. 22 and at the SMX Convention Center Davao on Nov. 28 will bring together tourism companies, employment agencies, and schools which will look for potential hires or offer internship and tourism-related programs to applicants.

“The participants will be holding one-on-one interviews with those who have submitted their resume to us online. However, the companies will be more than willing to do interviews for walk-in applicants,” Ms. Clemente said.

Ms. Clemente said the career opportunities in the tourism industry goes beyond those in the frontline services as the industry has a wide ranging need from musicians all the way to engineers and accountants.

“For the TCHF, we have identified 78 job items that are needed to be filled. Tourism industry players have a lot of job openings right now,” she said.

Ms. Clemente said there is an annual 10% job growth demand in the tourism industry and they expect the applicant database they have can be used to fill out the vacancies beyond the jobs fair they are holding.

Companies participating in the jobs fair will have access to the database for three months after the jobs fair for any additional hiring.

The Luzon leg of the career fair, which was held last month at the SMX Convention Center in Pasay City, featured 50 tourism related companies and attracted more than 1,000 job applicants.

The TCP was created under the Tourism Act of 2009. It has member companies operating from across the country.