I ATTENDED the three-day Retooling Workshop for Department of Tourism (DOT) Accredited Tour Guides in Bohol on New Circuits Developed by DOT Region 7 held in Tagbilaran City on February 21-23, 2023, and today, Thursday is the last day of the workshop.
The second day was devoted to the following topics: The Heritage Churches of Bohol and Bohol’s Culinary Heritage by Prof. Marianito Jose M. Luspo – which was truly captivating and enriching, Farm Trails of Bohol by Aileen Bayron of the Bohol Tourism Office who encouraged farming – one I fully support, and the exhilarating Outdoor and Adventure Circuits of Bohol by Rey Marcelo Donaire, President of KayakAsia Philippines.
The talks were awash with information that I feel like the participants needed to digest the details thoroughly and carefully to come up with an exciting narrative which, by the way, is a requirement for Thursday’s workshop.
I am elated to have attended this workshop. It made me revisit my roots once more as a Boholana who has lived outside of Bohol for about thirty years. Revisiting Bohol’s culinary heritage is fantastic particularly relearning Bohol’s unique dishes that Boholanos take pride in preparing and serving during fiestas. These dishes are embedded in the culture and tradition of Bohol. In fact, I never realized until Wednesday afternoon that there is a sub-plot behind Sinugba, Bas-oy, Nilauja, Humba, Solita, Broa, Torta, and Sikwate in the whole fiesta storyline.
Moreover, I am reminded why we don’t serve vegetables including vegetable salad and fish and other seafood courses during fiestas. Even that has its own sub-plot in the main story of the fiesta celebration.
Moving forward, why do we need to retool our DOT accredited tour guides in Bohol? Well, they certainly need it, and it forms part of the agency’s continuing program to “upgrade the services offered by tourism forntliners and suppliers in the region to strengthen new and existing tourism products and activities.” “The retooling workshop aims to standardize information and data shared by tour guides during tours and upgrade their communication skills.” Bohol, being a tourism haven, should always provide excellent customer care to clients: foreigners and local tourists alike with no distinction.
Tourism has really evolved through the years. The development of tourism circuits clearly indicates that people’s tastes have progressed over time and thus, tourism planners had to up their ante. They need to be ahead of the tourism evolution.
As presented during Day 2 of the workshop, tourism circuits have expanded to include outdoor adventure trails that involve kayaking, hiking, and biking in Bohol’s enthralling beaches, peaceful islands, picturesque isles, islets, and sandbar, lush mangroves, rugged but scenic terrain, and boardwalk – there’s nothing like nature tripping, huh!; cultural tourism which integrates pilgrimage circuits like visiting heritage churches – one which I favor being a history aficionada myself – and culinary tourism; education tourism which Cebu is pushing; diving and marine sports tourism which is a favorite among foreign and local tourists alike; and farm tourism which is becoming a vogue now.
Picking from the harmonized thoughts of the speakers, Bohol, indeed has still much to offer in the realm of tourism. There is still much to develop and personally, social media is a big boon since one photo with a brilliant caption is all it takes to attract attention and generate interest.
Meanwhile, it’s essential for the community to work together to help Bohol’s tourism thrive following the two-year hiatus forcibly imposed on the industry by the COVID-19 pandemic thereby helping our fellow Boholanos return to their skilled profession and chosen vocation.
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Special thanks
I want to thank Riza Marie Macaibay, Senior Tourism Operations Officer, DOT 7, and Seth Martel Binolirao, Tourism Operations Assistant, whom I met earlier this week and who oriented me with the flow of the workshop. It’s refreshing to know that Riza is the daughter of a former colleague of the National Power Corporation/National Transmission Corporation-Mindanao Region. We shared plenty of stories about the power industry.
I also want to thank the lovely Haydee C. Cabasan PhD, Assistant to the Dean, Mater Dei College Graduate Studies, and part-time professor at Holy Name University for referring me to DOT 7. Like I said, it’s Haydee’s Valentine gift to me!
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Writer hosts Woman Talk with Belinda Sales at 91.1 Balita FM Tagbilaran City every Saturday, 4 p.m. to 5 p.m. She can be reached at belindabelsales@gmail.com. Twitter @ShilohRuthie/PN
