ILOILO City – The Department of Tourism (DOT) Tourism Regulation, Coordination and Resource Generation (TRCRG) through DOT Region 6 conducted a Tourism Crisis Management Symposium at Grand Xing Hotel on Tuesday.
The symposium aims to provide better understanding on how to manage crisis in tourism industry in Western Visayas.
“The Tourism Crisis Management Symposium is one of the programs of DOT-TRCRG to provide ideas to participants about tourism crisis and on how to manage it effectively. If the stakeholders know what they need to do, it will be easier for them to overcome the challenges in tourism industry. Crisis management is important if we have to sustain the upward trend of tourism in Western Visayas”, DOT-6 regional director Atty. Helen Catalbas said.
Three speakers were invited to enlighten symposium participants. Henry Teodoro Hernia, Security and Business Continuity Manager of FLOUR Philippines will tackle “Understanding Crisis Management and the Tourism Industry” and also conducted a briefing on how to draft an emergency or crisis management plan in the regional and local tourism industry. Eugene Boco, Safety and Security Consultant, discussed “Emergency Management in the Tourism Industry.” Situational awareness or the previous incidents that made an impact on tourism industry was tackled by Ma. Aletha Nogra, Chief, Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Division, Office of Civil Defense Region 6.
A workshop on how to formulate a crisis management plan with a finished product was also presented during the symposium.
Joining the Tourism Crisis Management Symposium are the tourism officers, local government units, DOT-accredited tour guides, operators, hotels and other tourism-related establishments in Western Visayas./PN
