Regional Director DOT-7 Rowena Montecillo answers questions from the press after the ceremonial ribbon cutting of the Balik Cebu Booth Launching at Ayala Center in this 2013 photo .(CDN PHOTO/CHOY ROMANO)
THE Department of Tourism (DOT) plans to adopt a new accreditation system for hotels and resorts in the country after an international assessment organization gave an “internationally competitive” rating on majority of the establishments in Cebu and Bohol.
Tourism Regional Director Rowena Montecillo said yesterday that the new accreditation system aims to sustain this ranking and help other properties or establishments to improve their standards.
Montecillo said it is important to ensure high globally accepted standards being adopted in the different hotels and resorts in the region and in the country especially with Asean integration happening soon.
A team of International Accommodation Assessors (IAAs) together with the DOT conducted a review of 144 establishments in major tourism destinations since last year including those from Cebu and Bohol.
The initial findings favorable to most establishments in Cebu and Bohol were released recently.
“The review was launched last year to check out 144 hotels and resorts in the country’s main island destinations including Cebu, Bohol, Davao and Palawan. The DOT tapped international assessors to ensure that the review is based on accepted international standards,” she said.
The review is part of a technical assistance funded by the Government of Canada and administered by the Asian Development Bank (ADB). It is aimed at improving competitiveness in the tourism sector, in time for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) integration which starts next year.
“The team of IAAs is composed of 10 experts from different countries and they all said that Philippine hotels and resorts including the small players have ‘very high standards’ in keeping with the unique Filipino hospitality, which they said is one of the country’s competitive advantages,” she said.
Montecillo said the DOT will release final results of the assessment by the IAA team next month.
The new set of standards under the Hotel and Resorts Quality Assurance and Accreditation System is being developed to help properties improve in terms of quality, service and comfort provided by accommodation businesses of all sizes and types in the Philippines.
These new standards will help guide Philippine hotels and resorts on where they can invest to further improve their businesses and how to be effective in identifying excellence, enabling the finest properties and managers to show the way for others.
“The standards will clearly identify examples of best practice for use by all types and levels of accommodation, whether they are fit to be rated a five star hotel,” she said.