TOURISM Secretary Ma. Esperanza Christina G. Frasco has rolled out over P2.55 million worth of accident insurance coverage for tour guides in five provinces in Central Luzon (CL).
In a statement on Sunday, the Department of Tourism (DoT) said that tour guides from Pampanga, Aurora, Bataan, Bulacan, and Tarlac received the insurance, which was personally funded by Ms. Frasco.
Aside from the personal accident insurance coverage, the tour guides also received tour guiding kits from the department as part of its efforts to improve Clark as an alternate gateway for tourist markets to and from the Philippines.
“The DoT recognizes the indispensable role of local community guides in the tourism industry, being considered frontliners in championing the country’s local destinations and upholding the rich Filipino culture, heritage, and history,” the DoT said.
The beneficiaries were from the Porac Tour Guides Association, Guides Alliance Bulacan at Your Service, Bataan Peninsula Tour Guides Association, Eco Tour Guides Association of San Luis Aurora, City of San Fernando, Pampanga Tour Guides, Accredited Guides Association of Pampanga, Bulacan Tour Guides, and Doña Remedios Trinidad, Bulacan Tour Guides.
The DoT also signed partnership agreements with eight sectoral partners to prepare Central Luzon’s industrial and business districts for hosting the anticipated MICE Conference on July 10–12 this year.
Under the memoranda, the different agencies committed to training stakeholders, from tourism enterprises to academic institutions and community-based organizations.
The DoT, through its Office of Industry Manpower Development, managed to train over 127,000 workers last year. For this year, it is aiming “to hit the bigger goal of 150,000 workers trained this year.”
As of May 10, there are around 5,500 tourism frontliners, with 2,152 from the accommodation sector, 1,506 from the academe, and 1,204 from the local government units in Central Luzon. — Justine Irish D. Tabile
