Buscalan, Tinglayan – Twenty-seven homestay owners in the home of the country’s last hand-tap tattoo artist took training on ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) standard training on homestay operations from June 6-12, 2022.
This is one of the requirements for the operators to be accredited by the Department of Tourism.
Said training also ensures that they possess necessary skills leading to quality service, which increases customer satisfaction. It is also expected that it will contribute to pushing the level of competitiveness of the Philippine Tourism industry and further boost tourist arrivals.
In an interview with Dr. Freddie Quinito of DOT, the resource speaker in said training, he said the course mainly aimed to gather homeowners towards one common objective – to get DOT accreditation.
To pursue said target, he said the agency visited communities to conduct a foundational seminar that provides an understanding of the benefits of homestays in the community.
In the said course, homestay owners were given knowledge on the DOT homestay standard and accreditation processes, including homestay requirements and checklists, background check on possible homestay provider, house inspection and the homestay database, as well as sanitation issues and inspections.
To further engage homestay owners in the training, Quinito said they conducted it through plenary discussions, hands-on trainings, video presentations, simulations, and write-shops.
“…all of which provide a sneak preview of the need to create an inventory of tourist resources, the development of activities for tourists, the institutionalization of homestay partnerships, and the best practices including environmental, local products, cultural, and economic considerations,” Quinito explained.
Benefit of the training to homestay owners in Buscalan
The topnotcher during the recently held National Master Trainers and Assessors’ Training said that it updated homestay owners’ knowledge of the code of ethics of inn keeping, basic house decoration highlighting local culture, basic front desk procedures, and guest reception procedures.
Meantime, the Pilipinas Homestay Training conducted, as disclosed by Quinito was funded by DOT-Cordillera headed by Regional Director Jovita Ganongan.
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