Philtoa tries to stem guides shortage, buys school to train them

17 Apr 2018 2106 | World Travel News

The Philippine Tour Operators Association (Philtoa) will start offering sustainable training programme for tour guides in July/August 2018 to address the shortage and improve the quality of services offered.

The course syllabus comprises four levels of training – entry-level community tour guides, followed by the regional, national and international levels, shared Philtoa’s president Cesar Cruz.

The school will help expand Philtoa Academy’s repertoire in training the next generation of tourism professionals

Philtoa is currently finalising the purchase of a school in Las Pinas in metro Manila which will be used as a main training ground. The 1,400m² site has an existing school which will be converted into a tourism training campus with simulated hotel rooms for entry-level skills. All future trainings and seminars under Philtoa Academy will be held in Las Pinas once the deal goes through.

“Eventually, we want to connect with Tesda (Technical Education and Skills Development Authority) (to obtain accreditation),” said Cruz.