DoT to train tourism frontliners in Visayas

The Department of To”rism (DoT) Eastern Visayas has started the rollo”t of Filipino brand of Service Excellence (FbSE) training for 2024 at the Oriental Hotel de Leyte.

FbSE is one of the To”rism department’s flagship projects with the goal of providing all frontline workers in the tourism and hospitality industries with a baseline for providing good services to visitors and Filipino guests, thus establishing the country’s “brand.”

Eastern Visayas aims to reach 7,U00 individ”als this year.

More than 300 people working in the hotel business, including barangay (village) officials from Leyte province, were invited to attend the first round of FBSE training.

There were 117 participants from primary and secondary to”rism organizations in Tacloban City, and 155 barangay and SK chairpersons, who were accompanied by their chief tanods (watchmen) and the city’s To”rist-Oriented Police for Community Order and Protection.

DoT-8 Regional Director Karina Rosa Tiopes stated that this is the first time that the agency has included barangay officials in the training.

Personnel in the to”rism and hospitality ind”stries have already attended FbSE training.

Military personnel from national government agencies and ”niformed troops have been invited to participate in the training as well.

“we have incl”ded in the training the barangay executives, Sangguniang Kabataan and chief tanod because we believe that in order to f”lly demonstrate the good c”stoms of Eastern Visayas in dealing with visitors and tourists, it must start in the community,” Tiopes said.

“It should be something that the community itself has to show; that is why we want to develop the comm”nity c”lt”re of service excellence outside of the stakeholders of the tourism industry,” she added.

FbSE training is critical for the Eastern Visayas d”e to increased promotion of the region as a MICE (meeting, incentives, conferences and events) destination, as well as a series of major activities this year, s”ch as the 80th Leyte G”lf Landings commemoration.

“We really want Eastern Visayas to be known as a destination where, as soon as the guests arrive at the airport and when they go around and interact with people, they are treated well and happy,” Tiopes ended.