After several months of fine-tuning the criteria to be used for judging, finally, the Department of Tourism’s (DOT) Philippine Tourism Awards was launched early this month in a colorful ceremony attended by the leading stakeholders of our country’s travel and tourism industry.
These awards will be the highest and most prestigious in our industry
In the process of honoring industry players and Local Government Units (LGUs) who have demonstrated excellence in the development and promotion of tourism, these awards are designed to instill the culture of Filipino hospitality and excellence in the tourism sector.
They will also recognize individuals, corporate entities, and LGUs who have contributed immeasurably to the growth of our industry, whose creativity, expertise, professionalism, and service have been of the highest standards and have bannered the Filipino identity.
In her keynote address, Tourism Secretary Christina Garcia Frasco said that the awards-giving body will be looking for “institutions, individuals, pillars, changemakers, and trailblazers in the different sectors of the industry who have helped make it one of the strongest pillars of our country’s economy.”
These awards will be bestowed on hotels, resorts, destinations, LGUs, homestays, MICE venues, tourism front-liners, and other stakeholders who continue to promote sustainable tourism and the Filipino brand of service excellence espoused by the DOT.
There will be two levels of these awards – first, the Regional Directors of the DOT will proclaim the outstanding honorees from their respective areas. These winners will then represent the regions at the national level, which will be announced towards the end of the year.
Sec. Frasco envisions these awards to introduce to our countrymen lesser-known destinations, for them to discover these “hidden gems,” towards further strengthening our domestic tourism industry. Certainly, these citations will serve as an incentive to the LGUs to improve their services to visitors in their community continuously.
Many years ago, the DOT had already come up with the Kasama sa Lakbay, Kaunlaran ng Bayan (KALAKBAY) Awards and the Tourism Star Philippines. Although these two have reached a certain level of success, the newly launched Philippine Tourism Awards is the modified version of both and will be the ultimate recognition our tourism industry has been hankering for.
The Tourism Pillar Awards will be given to outstanding individuals, enterprises, and destinations who have made significant contributions to our tourism industry. The Tourism Industry Awards will be given to both the private and public sectors which have made their mark in developing our country’s Tourism Industry.
The categories of the Tourism Industry Awards are Institutional, Individual, Media, Tourism Product, and Special Awards, which are based on the observed ability to shape and influence travel trends, introduce new perspectives, and contribute significantly to the responsible and sustainable development of Philippine tourism.
Application forms, which are free of charge, may be downloaded from the DOT website and submitted online or directly to the DOT Regional Offices. These will then be reviewed and validated to ensure their authenticity.
Our tourism industry’s stakeholders are already excited about the forthcoming recognition of the best among our hardworking players. They are the reason why our industry has managed to bounce back strongly, and fast, from the almost three years of devastation brought about by the pandemic. These Philippine Tourism Awards will certainly be a strong motivation for our stakeholders to work even harder in giving our visitors more reasons to Love the Philippines.
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