BLISTT guides now Mandarin speaking

CORDILLERAN tour guides can now speak Mandarin.

In a bid to boost tourist arrivals and serve clientele better the first batch of tour

guides graduated from a Chinese Mandarin language proficiency Level I and II course over the weekend.

S&A Learning solutions trainer Patricia Ann Umali said the 17 tour guides engaged in a five- weekend training and acquired skills in basic conversation, the graduates are now able to converse, speak and instruct using the language.

Umali said "We would want that if we would be welcoming guests from China we would be able to cater their needs and expectations and in doing that we would be able to boost the tourism industry here in Baguio city.”

The Baguio-LaTrinidad-ItogonSablan-Tuba-Tublay tourism organization President Jeneffer Baltazar said the challenge of the tour guiding profession is anchored on its sustainability considering competition the solution is to acquire new skills.

Baltazar said the Mandarin language is one of the most spoken languages worldwide with China recording and annual P100 million outbound travelers and 5th in arrivals in the region with a 5,000 strong Chinese community.

The Department of Tourism Cordillera wants more foreign tourist arrivals “We want to increase the arrivals of foreign tourists with new money coming in the Philippines. We are looking of the economic (impact) primarily and we are looking into selling. We are not only looking on the volume its more on market to come here and spend their money, shop, create demand, they stay in hotels, buy our products, they go around wherein generally the small, medium enterprises earn as well," said DOT-CAR Chief Tourism Operations officer Jovita Ganongan.

The DOT - Cordillera recorded 94 percent from domestic tourist arrivals of with the remaining six percent composed of foreign arrivals.

Ganongan said there is a huge potential for the internal market considering direct flights in Clark, Pampanga been made available for China.

Tour guiding groups are now eyeing to learn Japanese, French and German.