Be accredited.
Tour guides in Boracay Island are encouraged to renew or seek accreditation with the Department of Tourism (DOT).
In a phone interview, DOT Boracay field office in charge Kristoffer Leo Velete said DOT-trained and accredited tour guides have certificates of accreditation and identification cards to deliver excellent tourism services.
“May mga tour guides sa Boracay, di naman karamihan, ay hindi pa naka-renew ng kanilang accreditation sa DOT,” he added.
Velete said tour guides who are members of Malay Tour Guide Association are also hired by tour and travel agencies or they are freelancers or on commission basis.
Refresher courses are also conducted by DOT to equip the accredited tour guides with latest trends of tourism services.
Velete clarified that the tourism department are not issuing licenses to tour coordinators/commissioners except for tour guides who are required first to undergo a 21-day seminar for accreditation with DOT.
Tour coordinators or locally known as “commissioners” are mandated to secure permits from the local government of Malay before they are allowed to provide business or services to tourists. Tour coordinators without the necessary permits from LGUs are considered ‘illegal’.
Velete said the agency received several complaints from tourists regarding exorbitant fees charged by commissioners.
Last Thursday, the crackdown on the growing number of illegal commissioners and vendors continues in the beach front of Boracay.
Authorities confiscated brochures and marketing materials of illegal commissioners and souvenir items of vendors for violations of Malay municipal ordinances.
BY BOY RYAN B. ZABAL
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