ASEAN TOURISM STANDARDS AWARDS
Cebu’s hospitality industry continues to reap the recognition of being of international standards.
The latest affirmation came from the Asean Tourism Standards Awards wherein eight hotels and resorts in Cebu were recognized in two categories — the Asean Green Hotel Award and the Asean MICE (meetings, incentives, conventions, exhibitions) Venue Award.
The Hotel, Resort, and Restaurant Association of Cebu Inc. (HRRAC) welcomed the recognition as another pride for the industry in Cebu in terms of providing world-class tourism services to the whole Asean community.
“These hotels and resorts have set the standards high and are fulfilling their promise of making sure that Cebu’s tourism is sustainable and competitive with other global brands,” said HRRAC President Carlo Suarez.
Bluewater Maribago Beach Resort, Crimson Resort and Spa Mactan, and P&I Resorts Inc. — Pulchra were among the 11 properties in the Philippines that received the Asean Green Hotel Award. There are a total of 40 awardees all over the region.
The Asean Green Hotel Award, which started in 2007, includes 11 criteria like environmental friendly policies and activities for hotel operations, use of green products, collaboration with local community organizations, energy efficiency, water efficiency, air quality management, control of noise pollution, wastewater management and treatment, toxic and chemical substance disposal management.
On the other hand, Radisson Blu Cebu, Waterfront Cebu City Hotel and Casino, JPark Island Resort and Waterpark, Shangri-la’s Mactan Resort and Spa, and Quest Hotel and Conference Center made it to the Asean MICE Venue category.
For this, the awardees were chosen based on three main criteria: physical setting, technology, and service.
There are a total of 47 awardees for this category, with 11 coming from the Philippines.
The properties were awarded during the 2018 Asean Tourism Forum held in Chiang Mai, Thailand last January 22 to 26.
Sought for comment, Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCCI) President Melanie Ng said they are glad to note that several properties in Cebu were included in the Asean Tourism Standards Awards.
“This is a great way to recognize the positive attributes of our tourism destinations in terms of green tourism, sustainability and viability as a MICE destination. It will also serve as inspiration for the tourism players to continue to elevate standards at a global level,” Ng told CDN.
Privilege, inspiration
It was the first time for Radisson Blu Cebu to win the Asean MICE Venue Standard Award.
“It is a remarkable accomplishment for Radisson Blu Cebu to be awarded the first ever Asean MICE Venue Award in a Hotel Setting. As Cebu’s premier MICE hotel, this recognition reflects our commitment to excellence in our service and facilities and it is a proud testament to all the hard work behind the success of the many Asia-Pacific conferences we have hosted since we opened in 2010,” said Ann Olalo, the hotel’s area director of sales and marketing.
Radisson Blu Cebu has over 3,000 square meters of flexible meeting and pre-function spaces. They also have 10 meeting rooms, two ballrooms, a garden plaza, 400 guest rooms and six food and beverage outlets.
For their part, Quest Hotel and Conference Center said they hope the recognition they received would bolster their client’s confidence in their facilities
“This recognition is a confirmation that Quest is ready to take on more international MICE business. We’re optimistic that this will bring in more business as well as solidify our client’s trust and confidence in the hotel. This is very important to our team members too who have put in all the efforts to make sure that we are able to comply with ASEAN’s standards,” said Geralyn Lizares, the hotel’s director of sales and marketing.
Waterfront Cebu City Hotel and Casino general manager Anders Hallden also said they continue to have the experience and knowledge to host events in the country, no matter how big or small.
He said this has kept the hotel successful over the years of its operation.
On the other hand, it is already the second time for Bluewater Maribago Beach Resort to win the Asean Green Hotel Award.
In a statement, the resort’s management highlighted some of their programs for the environment like Project BLUE where divers from the resort’s departments do regular underwater clean-up dives and coastal maintenance; as well as BLUE goes GREEN, an ongoing program that promotes eco-responsibility.
“Bluewater Maribago Beach Resort was awarded due to its consistent efforts to protect and care for the environment,” the management said in a statement.
Meanwhile, Crimson Resort and Spa Mactan said they hope their recognition would serve as an inspiration to other properties.
“Crimson is committed to protect the environment and support a sustainable resort operation. Since its opening in 2010, we have been keen in making sure we are able to contribute and give back to the environment in different ways that we can,” said Mia Sy, Crimson’s director for PR and Marcom.
“The ASEAN Green recognition only makes us more determined to continue what we have started and do more, as we see that our efforts are being recognized. And we hope to inspire other properties to do the same,” she added.
Lack of rooms
Shalimar Tamano, Department of Tourism Central Visayas director, said that the recognition was a welcome one, however, Cebu still has a problem in the number of rooms for tourists especially with the upcoming opening of the new airport in Panglao and the new terminal 2 at the Mactan Cebu International Airport.
“Even if we lack in rooms, we can still compensate with the level of quality provided by the existing hotels,” said Tamano about the recognition of the Cebu hotels.