DOT to train homestay providers for IEC 2016

The Department of Tourism (DOT-7) is set to train some residents in Cebu for the special homestay accommodation during the 8-day International Eucharistic Congress to be held in Cebu next year.

DOT-7 regional director Rowena Montecillo is closely coordinating with the 51st IEC organizing committee for the preparation of homestay accommodation, especially to religious groups who cannot be taken in by traditional accommodation facilities like hotels, resorts, pension houses, and others.

Montecillo said her office is ready to train the identified households in Cebu on the proper handling of homestay service. The IEC 2016 organizing committee will be the one to identify the households within Cebu to host some participants of the congress.

The 51st IEC 2016 is scheduled on January 24 to 31, 2016. With expected delegates of 16 thousand people from all over the world, Cebu is expected to experience shortage in accommodation facility if it were to depend on existing room counts.

According to Montecillo, the residents that will be chosen to host some IEC participants will get a training for the DOT's existing homestay program, but they will not necessarily accredited by DOT.

DOT's homestay program is already in place and once the homes that will host the IEC participants will be identified, a brief training will be started, Montecillo said.

Homestay is a living arrangement with a host family or organization who offers extra private room or space for an out of town guest for a reasonable fee compared to other accommodation providers.

A host family or group offers the guests a home away from home.

In Cebu, there are already few households that are adopting the homestay concept. But this time, Montecillo said it is the congress' organizing committee who will provide the list of residents to host some of the participants.

In the Roman Catholic church, a Eucharistic Congress is a gathering of clergy, religious, and laity to bear witness to the Real Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist, which is an important Roman Catholic doctrine.

The most recent International Eucharistic Congress was held in Dublin, Ireland in 2012 and the next congress will be held in Cebu, next year.