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‘Transact with non-accredited
establishments at your own risk’
By Rhick Lars Vladimer Albay
ILOILO City – With tourism in Western Visayas about to hit its annual peak season as the holidays loom, the Department of Tourism (DOT) Region 6 is urging customers to be vigilant when it comes to doing business with hospitality establishments.
“Deal only with tourism establishments bearing stickers, IDs, or certificates showing that they are accredited by the Department of Tourism… [without these] transact at your own risk,” cautioned DOT 6 regional director Atty. Helen Catalbas.
“Meaning kung hindi ka magpangita sa mga muni nga documents, you are endangering yourself of being deceived, it may be your loss,” added the Tourism official as one of the Department of Trade and Industry’s partner agencies for Consumer Welfare Month celebrated every October.
“With DOT-accredited establishments, when you see the plaque or the signage on the door or lobby of a hospitality and tourism establishment, that is a promise of quality service and a promise of protection for consumers,” explained Catalbas. “Because we issue this accreditation only to those who qualify with the standards set by the Department of Tourism.”
The regional director added that when they receive complaints about DOT-accredited establishments, the agency can mediate between the customer and the business – ensuring that the grievances go through the proper channels.
“When we receive complaints against DOT-accredited establishments, we have a proper procedure to try and remedy the complaint. We can give them enough time to answer. But we also have the power to revoke that seal of assurance and consumer protection if the situation presents itself,” she added.
DOT 6 reminds the public to deal only with DOT-accredited establishments bearing an Accreditation ID, Accreditation Sticker and Accreditation Certificate. For verification, DOT 6 office can be reached through telephone numbers (033) 503-2705 / 335-0245 / 337-5411.
TOURISM ON THE RISE
In the span of the first five months of 2017, the Department of Tourism (DOT) Region 6 has recorded 2,020,034 tourist arrivals in the region – well on the way of reaching or even surpassing last year’s 5,193,634 total visitor arrivals, a partial report from the DOT shows.
The numbers have prompted Catalbas to proudly express that they are confident “Western Visayas will hit its 5.5-million tourist arrivals target for 2017.”
Aklan remains the most visited province – largely due to the island destination Boracay – with 1,160,839 visitors. It is followed by emerging metros Iloilo City (410,061) and Bacolod City (269,232), with developing tourist spots Antique (43,277) and Guimaras (16,715) behind them.
Catalbas especially commended Antique for stepping up its game in promoting the tourism of the province with its more than forty-thousand tourist arrivals (from January to March 2017), barely 32 percent away from its 63,613 January to December tourist arrivals in 2016.
“DOT Region VI takes into consideration these numbers because this is where we align our tourism products and services. Western Visayas already knows its strength; it’s time to enhance other areas to accommodate more tourists, creating Western Visayas one destination with diverse culture”, Catalbas concluded.
Western Visayas remains most popular among East Asia nationals, with 188,149 Korean tourist arrivals and 177,208 Chinese visitors.
“Manigurado para mahilayo sa peligro, i-patronize lamang ang mga DOT-accredited establishments sa Western Visayas,” concluded the regional director./PN
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