Phl hotels, resorts ready for global competition

MANILA, Philippines - Philippine hotels and resorts in key island destinations are ready to compete in the global marketplace, according to the initial findings of an international team of international accommodation assessors (IAAs).

The IAAs, who joined another team from the Department of Tourism (DOT), conducted a national review of accommodation standards last month.

Composed of 10 experts from different countries, the IAAs said Philippine hotels and resorts, including the small players, have ‘very high standards’ in keeping the unique Filipino hospitality, one of the country’s competitive advantages.

“The warmth of welcome for guests in all types of accommodation is almost unique among international destinations. There is a real potential for the Philippine tourism industry. Some hotels and resorts need to invest to improve, but the new rating system can help identify where to focus that investment,” the initial report noted.

New standards under the Hotel and Resorts Quality Assurance and Accreditation System aim to assist visitors in terms of the quality, service and comfort provided by accommodation businesses in the Philippines.

The system, which was launched last year, reviewed 144 hotels and resorts in the country’s main island destinations such as Cebu, Bohol, Davao and Palawan. The DOT tapped international assessors to ensure that the review is based on accepted international standards. 

The review itself is part of a technical assistance (TA) funded by Canada and administered by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) aimed at improving competitiveness in the tourism sector, in time for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) integration.

ASEAN member countries are the Philippines, Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam, Singapore, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Brunei.

Tourism Undersecretary Maria Victoria V. Jasmin, Chairperson of the DOT Project Steering Committee, said the TA is crucial in helping the department implement the Improving Competitiveness in Tourism, roadmap, which is designed to increase foreign tourist arrivals to 10 million by 2016.

“Data will be carefully analyzed in order to further strengthen and develop the accommodation standards system and enable us to compete at the highest international levels in the future,” Jasmin said.

The new standards will help guide Philippine hotels and resorts on where they could invest to further improve their businesses. It will identify areas of excellence, enabling the finest properties and managers to show the way for others.

“The standards clearly identify examples of best practice for use by all types and levels of accommodation,” the government official said.

Data from the tourism department indicate that foreign arrivals grew by 2.22 percent to 2,433,428 in the first six months of 2014, with the Asian visitors outnumbering the visitors from the West.

Arrivals in June alone reached 372,293 or 0.87 percent more than the 369,073 recorded in the same period last year.

Arrivals from the Asian region accounted for 58.78 percent with South Korea, China and Japan leading the region. The Americas and Europe comprised 19.28 percent and 10.64 percent, respectively.

The full year 2014 target is to register 6.8 million arrivals, versus the 4.68 million for 2013.