Reinforce tourism workforce

THE POSITVE forecasts for the Philippine tourism industry by the latest economic impact report from the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) is encouraging. The Filipino tourism workforce should be ready to address the resurgence of the sector.

The Department of Tourism (DOT) should develop a roadmap with the Department of Labor and Employment and the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) for the training, upskilling, and reskilling programs to address the surge of demand for tourism jobs in the country.

This is a time for us to step up our tourism game, as neighboring countries are also opening up their travel destinations. The tourism industry should remind the world of the topclass Filipino brand of hospitality by upgrading its workforce.

In a press conference last week, the WTTC forecasted an average annual growth rate of 6.7 percent over the next 10 years for the country’s tourism industry, exceeding the expected 5.6 percent overall average growth rate for the Philippine economy. The WTTC also sees employment in the local tourism sector growing annually by an average of three percent over the next 10 years, generating 2.9 million new jobs, and accounting for 21.5 percent of all jobs in the country.

The tourism sector can get the reinforcements through skills training programs offered by TESDA. It can also take part of the P1.515 billion allotted this year for the Tulong Trabaho Fund to address the training needs of our workforce. This way we can remain globally competitive and responsive to the demands of this priority industry.

Also important – the Department of Health must include tourism workers as a priority sector for vaccination booster shots against COVID-19 as they are economic frontliners for the country. Yes, health authorities must enforce pandemic protocols especially in tourist spots.

In addition, the Small Business Corporation under the Department of Trade and Industry should fast track the support for micro-, small-, and mediumsized enterprises (MSMEs) in the travel and tourism sector through the continuous.

Support our MSMEs and skills development are crucial in the reemergence of the tourism sector from the pandemic. It’s now a matter of implementation for the current administration, and continuity for the upcoming administration.