By Analou De Vera
The Department of Tourism (DOT) has reminded the public to only transact with accredited travel and tour agencies, airline ticketing, and other travel-related entities.
Department of Tourism (MANILA BULLETIN)
"Recently, various reports have been received by the Department of Tourism on the proliferation of non-accredited entities advertising services in different social media platforms for airline ticketing, travel and tour arrangement, hotel booking, and training offerings for travel business management," the DOT said in a statement.
The tourism department warned the public to be vigilant "in dealing with these entities as there can be no guarantee on the reliability and legitimacy of their products and services."
The department said there are only select training centers that are accredited in offering courses for putting up travel agencies and other tourism-related services.
The DOT said all travel agencies/ tour operators, including online bookings are covered under the DOT Accreditation Law, adding that "non-compliance to the provisions thereof is punishable by law."
"Entities with valid and existing accreditation with the Department have informative websites and/or online pages bearing the DOT's Quality Seal and their corresponding Accreditation Number with validity," the tourism department said.
The public was encouraged to look at the complete list of DOT-accredited enterprises by visiting the department's official website accessible at www.tourism.gov.ph.