Dr. Norma Respicio talks on textiles and inabel on October 7 at the seminar. (Alaric Yanos) |
By Jennifer T. Pambid
PGIN-CMO
With
Ilocos Norte emerging as a top tourist
destination in the country, the provincial government in cooperation with the
Department of Tourism (DOT) offered a 21-day tour-guiding seminar and
accreditation for aspiring professional tour guides.
The seminar started on
October 4, 2016 at the Taoid museum activity area in Laoag City with at least
25 participants from all around the province.
Ilocos Norte tourism officer
Aian Raquel said that “the training is focused on the technical aspects of
tour-guiding and hospitality and there are content-specific lectures (on)
Ilocos Norte as a (tourist) destination.”
Upon completion of the workshop,
participants will be accredited by the DOT as professional tour guides and will
have opportunity to earn higher pay than the ordinary guides.
“This is an opportunity for
our interested tour guides, and even those who have been practicing
tour-guiding in the province and region, because this will give them a chance
to get a license from the DOT. This will show that they are trained and
professional tour guides, and (that) they are able to handle bigger accounts,”
Mr. Raquel added.
Tourism experts such as Ivan
Henares of the Heritage Conservation Society of the Philippines will share
their knowledge and experiences to the participants.
Norma Respicio, a prime
scholar on Philippines textiles and ‘inabel,’ a distinctly Ilocano woven cloth
done on traditional wooden loom, was also invited to lecture.
Mr. Raquel disclosed further
that Billy Malacura of Escuella Taller in Intramuros, Manila will also share
his expertise on museums and other heritage structures.
The Ilocos Norte Tourism
Office continues to encourage more Ilocanos, including students, to apply for
the seminar the soonest.
Registration fee is at
P4,500.00, inclusive of food and materials for the whole duration of the
seminar.
Applicants who are not
graduate of tourism-related courses may also be accepted “as long as they have
the willingness and passion to be of service to visitors as tour guides.”
The province of Ilocos Norte
welcomed the highest number of tourists this year during the Holy Week
recording more than 400,000 visitors or a 91% increase compared to the same
period last year, hence a growing need for tour guides.
Basic life support is taught to the participants last October 7 (Alaric Yanos) |
The booming tourism in Ilocos
Norte has prompted the increase in livelihood, business and construction in the
province, especially near the Pagudpud beaches, Paoay sand dunes, Bangui
windmills and Paoay church.
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