DOT bares 5-year plan to develop tourism professionals
The Department of Tourism (DOT) has unveiled its five-year industry manpower development plan that will focus on the development of competent and world-class Filipino tourism professionals through the education system.

"We aim to develop competent, world-class Filipino tourism professionals through a harmonized education system and strong tourism industry linkages and collaboration," DOT Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat said during the recent launching of the Philippine Tourism Human Capital Development Plan (PTHCD) for 2021-2025.
"Together, these factors will lead us toward attaining sustainable and inclusive national socio-economic development," Puyat added.
The tourism chief led the virtual launch of the plan, which intends to address the challenges of human capital development in tourism by ensuring a steady supply of trained manpower in the industry.
Republic Act (RA) No.9593 or the Tourism Act of 2009 mandates the DOT to draft an industry manpower development plan every five years. PTHCD is the continuation of the Philippine Tourism Human Resource Development Strategy and Action Plan for 2015-2020.
The department has already conducted in previous months a national consultation, situational analysis, and focus group discussion with representatives of various tourism industry sub-sectors, local government units (LGUs), government agencies, and the academe.
The discussions covered Education Tourism as a tourism product offering, industry linkages and partnerships, research and innovation, standards review and development, implementation of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Mutual Recognition Arrangements for Tourism Professionals, and other programs.
"In view of the challenges and opportunities brought about by the COVID-19 (coronavirus disease) pandemic, this updated PTHCD comes at a most critical time. The retooling, reskilling, and upskilling of the tourism workforce will all be crucial as the industry prepares to reopen and recover, and will be among the most important steps in our journey toward the better normal," Puyat added.