By Danny O. Calleja
LEGAZPI CITY, Oct. 19 (PNA) –- The Department of Tourism (DOT) regional office for Bicol here has prepared special treats for delegates in the forthcoming Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit to be hosted by this city.
Maria Ong-Ravanilla, the DOT regional director, over the weekend said the delegates who would need the services of wellness professionals could avail of them from experts who have been recently trained in terms of standards, ethics, protocol and client care.
“We gathered together 30 of these professionals into a seminar-workshop which enhanced their good work attitudes and improved their knowledge and skills towards excellence in providing their prospective clients with the unique Filipino brand of professional wellness services,” Ravanilla said.
These service specialists will be deployed in hotels where delegates to the APEC summit are to be billeted such as the Oriental Hotel and Resort here, which is also the venue of the two-day meeting, and Misibis Bay Resort in the nearby town of Bacacay, Albay.
The Oriental is a world-class hotel located at hillside here overlooking the entire cityscape and fronting from a distance the majestic Mayon Volcano while Misibis is a posh resort hotel considered as a private tropical hideaway built on a pristine stretch of beach serving as a luxury island playground along Cagraray Island.
The APEC summit opening slated here on Dec. 8-9 will be attended mainly by 21 economic ministers from member-economies that include the Philippines, Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Peru, Russia, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, United States and Vietnam.
Ravanilla said the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), which is the lead agency in the preparations for Philippines’ hosting of the summit, has also assigned 10 of the 53 ministerial meetings to take place between March and December next year to this city, with the rest to be shared by other cities.
APEC was formed in 1989 by these 21 Pacific Rim countries or member-economies to promote free trade and economic cooperation throughout the Asia-Pacific region.
Discussions in the sectoral meetings of the forthcoming events are expected to be focused on energy, transport, human capacity, education, and women while issues on industry, investments, trade and intellectual property rights are seen to be given ample attentions.
In these meetings, APEC aims to promote sustainable growth in the Asia-Pacific region in response to the growing interdependence of the region’s economies and the advent of regional trade blocs.
This aim is compatible with Pres. Aquino’s vision of inclusive growth as enunciated in the Philippine Development Plan 2010-2016, Ravanilla said.
The privilege of hosting the annual meetings rotates among the member-economies, and this time, it will be the Philippines, with this city known in the travel industry world as the “City of Fun and Adventure” and now emerging as among the country’s top convention sites shadowed by the majestically perfect coned Mayon Volcano, playing a vital role.
The Philippines first hosted an APEC leaders’ summit in 1996, with almost all events concentrated in Manila and Subic. Its preparatory conference was held in Davao City.
So far, the city and Misibis are now ready with 2,900 hotel rooms and the DTI is working on 600 more in nearby areas to comply with the 3,500 rooms required for the ministerial meetings.
The local government here, on the other hand, is rushing works to make the city more presentable and all traffic routes to be taken by the delegates in their movements cleared of congestion.
“We are dressing up the city for these big APEC events and making it sure that these economic ministers and international dignitaries enjoy their stay,” City Mayor Noel Rosal on Sunday said.
Ravanilla said that apart from the professional wellness service providers, the Bicol University-College of Arts and Letters (BU-CAL) with campuses here, in partnership with the provincial government of Albay, had earlier produced graduates who would work as tourist guides during the APEC summit.
These graduates were especially trained in handling delegates from countries in the Pacific Rim together with their support staff.
The training included foreign languages.
DOT has also been able and continuously honing the talents and skills of workers in the local tourism industry by way of providing them training on specialized tour guiding so that the services they are providing become special and different from the traditional manners, Ravanilla said.
“Our local tourist guides have now specialized in eco-tourism and action tourism that most tourists are looking for combined with safety, adventure, fun and comfortable facilities that are making the industry an exciting proposition today,” Ravanilla said.
This city, she said, has pulled a surprise as outdoor adventure tourism expands at a fast rate and promises to remain one of the most dynamic and innovative industry in the travel sectors for years to come. (PNA)