CATBALOGAN CITY — In a bid to bolster the region’s tourism sector, the Department of Tourism (DOT) Region 8 has initiated the roll-out of the Filipino Brand of Service Excellence (FBSE) training for 2024 at the Oriental Hotel de Leyte in Tacloban City on Monday, February 19,2024.
FBSE is a flagship program of the DOT aimed at providing front liners in the tourism and hospitality industry with a benchmark for rendering excellent services to tourists, encapsulating the Filipino brand.
Eastern Visayas targets to train 7,500 individuals this year.
Initially, 300 individuals working in the hospitality industry, including barangay officials from Leyte province, were invited to participate in the first round of FBSE training.
DOT-8 Regional Director Karina Rosa Tiopes emphasized that including barangay officials in the training is a new approach. “We have included barangay chairmen, Sangguniang Kabataan chairmen, and chief tanod because we believe that to demonstrate the good customs of Eastern Visayas in dealing with visitors, it must start in the community,” explained RD Tiopes.
Given that destinations, sites, and tourism facilities are located in barangays, training community members in FBSE ensures they can relate to tourists and maintain safe, clean, and presentable areas. “Developing a community culture of service excellence outside the tourism industry stakeholders is essential,” added RD Tiopes.
Conducting FBSE training is crucial for Eastern Visayas due to the intensified promotion of the region as a choice for MICE activities and major events this year. This includes the commemoration of Homonhon Landing of Ferdinand Magellan, the celebration of the First Easter Mass in Asia at Limasawa Island, the 80th Leyte Gulf Landings commemoration, and the arrival of a cruise ship scheduled to visit an island town.
The agency aims to reach its target by including barangay and SK officials, including tanods, in the training. At least three FBSE training sessions are planned every week in six provinces, facilitated by accredited trainers.
The training covers the “Mabuhay” gesture as a way of greeting visitors and guests, as well as the “7M” of Filipino values: Maka-Diyos, Makatao, Maka-Kalikasan, Makabansa, Masayahin, May Bayanihan, and May Pag-asa.
“We want Eastern Visayas to be known as a destination where guests are treated well and are happy from the moment they arrive at the airport, interacting with people who greet them with the Mabuhay gesture,” Tiopes emphasized.
The 2024 FBSE training also targets state universities and colleges and private higher learning institutions offering courses related to the tourism and hospitality industry.
