Calabarzon targets DOT stamp on establishments

MANILA, Philippines - The Calabarzon region targets to accredit up to 40 percent of small and medium-scale tourism establishments in the area before the year ends to improve standards set by the Department of Tourism (DOT).

There are approximately 1,800 tourism establishments and accommodations in the region and only 20 percent are DOT-accredited, said DOT Region IV-A director Rebecca Villanueva-Labit.

“We just need to inform the people with the right information and why they need to do it. We need to improve. There’s nothing bad about it and it’s not impossible to comply. It’s actually setting up the standards,” she added.

The DOT accreditation is different from the new star rating system in large-scale hotels and resorts with more than 150 rooms. In Calabarzon, only 10 establishments are applying for the new system including Taal Vista and Pico de Loro.

The DOT accreditation does not only look into the facilities but also in terms of management and staff training and its capacity to cater to persons with disabilities (PWDs).

Labit said she expects an eight to 10 percent increase in same-day tourist arrivals this year. Last year, approximately 10 million same-day tourists visited the region.

“We are not within the priority destination but we are an emerging one. One advantage of Calabarzon is that there’s no need for planes to visit. And because of the roads, we see beautiful things coming. Distance will no longer be a problem in the future, the only thing we need to deal with is traffic,” she said.

Labit added the expansion of theme park Enchanted Kingdom, the development of Laguna Lakeshore, additional attractions in Nuvali and Tagaytay, and the sprouting of more hotels will further boost investments in the region in the coming years.