The Department of Tourism (DOT) has welcomed the request of the Thailand Ministry of Tourism and Sports (MOTS) to fill their shortage of workers.
Tourism Sec. Christina Garcia-Frasco met MOTS Thai Minister Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn on the sidelines of the 11th Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Tourism Ministerial Meeting (TMM) in Bangkok on Thursday, August 18, and settled to strengthen bilateral tourism initiatives between the two countries.
Frasco said the Thai minister agreed to renew the Implementing Program of Cooperation between the Philippines and Thailand on collaborations in the areas of travel facilitation, research and development, education and training, tourism initiatives, human development, employment, and exchange of best practices on anchoring country’s tourism on culture and heritage, among others.
During the meeting, Frasco also explored the possibility of collaborating with Thailand in the areas of Meetings, Incentives, Conventions, and Exhibitions (MICE) Tourism, education tourism particularly English as second language, and food and gastronomy tourism.
“I accept with gratitude the minister’s sentiments saying that we would like more people from Thailand to visit the Philippines to equalize the number of people from the Philippines that visit Thailand. With your government’s help and our partnership, we look forward to increasing that number and we would welcome you with open arms in the Philippines,” Frasco addressed Ratchakitprakarn.
The DOT also responded to the Thailand Minister’s request for help in addressing Thailand’s shortage of workforce in the accommodation industry, noting the quality of the Filipino workforce.
Frasco invited Thailand to participate in the Tourism job gairs that will be jointly administered by the DOT and the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE).
“The Thailand Minister gladly accepted and confirmed their participation. This would bring in a wealth of employment opportunities for Filipinos wanting to work in Thailand,” said Frasco. (Jun Marcos Tadios)