Highlights from the 11th National Tour Guides Convention and General Assembly
A week before the country celebrated the National Tour Guides Day (which happens every third Monday of June), the Philippine Federation of Professional Tour Guides (TGFed) and the Tourism Promotions Board of the Philippines (TPB) gathered tour guides from across the country for the concurrent 11th National Tour Guides Convention and General Assembly and 2nd National Tour Guides Conference held in Tacloban City, Leyte from June 9-11.
The three-day event was marked by a series of insightful talks from the industry’s esteemed speakers, fruitful discussions among the delegates, fun nights, and side trips to the host region’s worth-visiting heritage and natural tourist spots, which Karen Tiopes, regional director of the Department of Tourism (DOT) Eastern Visayas, describe in her welcome message as “somehow underrated.”
This year’s national assembly jump started on a humid morning with a tour guides’ and media members’ caravan visit to the nearby tourist spots, such as the MacArthur Landing Site and the Palo Metropolitan Cathedral, as if we were all introduced to the region. A Holy Mass for the delegates followed at the St. Roch Chaplaincy – Pope Francis Parish, also in Palo, before the rolling tour of some of Tacloban City’s heritage sites located along the way back to the event venue.
Around 200 professional tour guides representing 18 associations from Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao joined the convention that was anchored on the theme, “Philippine Tour Guides: Keepers of Culture, Heritage and Biodiversity.”
“You are not just holding the key to your destination, you are the storyteller, the cultural ambassador who breathes life into each landmark, story and tradition,” said TPB Chief Operating Officer, Maria Margarita Nograles, as she addressed the tour guides in her keynote speech.
Nograles also encouraged them to partake in achieving the country’s goal of being a top tourist destination in Asia, while expressing gratitude to the delegates whom she heralded as essential tourism stakeholders.
The conference served as a venue for discussing new ideas, sharing success stories and addressing relevant issues that both benefit and affect not only the tour guiding profession, but the entire tourism sector. It also became a vital platform for networking, learning and self-enhancement among the delegates.
Apple Allison Perez, a tour guide from the Bicol Region and one of the event speakers, emphasized the importance of “personal branding” in her talk, noting how it could contribute to their becoming effective tourism ambassadors. She also stressed that being authentic to who they are as they bring stories and narratives to their guests greatly helps in making the tour guiding profession more valued.
Tour guides are one of the unsung heroes of Philippine tourism. They are often perceived only as handlers of the itinerary, but it is their own ways of presenting the country’s local cultures, histories, traditions and environment that leaves an impression that lasts.
The remarkable experiences that tourists obtain through their tour guides give them a reason to, as DOT puts it, love the Philippines even more and encourage them to return, thus contributing to the country’s multibillion-peso tourism industry.
Before the convention ended, members of each tour guide association presented a parting gift to TGFed’s outgoing president, Alberto Gadia Jr., as a gesture of appreciation for his six years of tireless service to the federation. Gadia also thanked and acknowledged his co-officials and led the oath-taking of TGFed’s new set of leaders, who will organize and bring next year’s convention in the City of Mati in Davao Oriental.
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