TACLOBAN CITY – In line with the Marcos administration’s push to position the Philippines as a major tourism destination in Asia, the Department of Tourism in Eastern Visayas (DOT-8) convened tourism stakeholders for its biennial Learning Needs Analysis (LNA) – Focus Group Discussion on March 5 at the Summit Hotel here.
The activity, organized in partnership with the Office of Human Capital Development (OHCD), aims to identify training gaps among tourism frontliners and ensure that workers in the sector are equipped with the skills and competencies needed in the rapidly evolving tourism landscape.
Tourism officers, trainers, representatives from the academe, and operators of accommodation establishments across the region participated in the discussion. The gathering allowed stakeholders to share their individual training needs while helping the DOT identify broader industry gaps that must be addressed through future capacity-building programs.
The LNA forms part of the agency’s effort to implement a more demand-driven training strategy that would produce future-ready tourism professionals capable of meeting the industry’s real-world requirements.
DOT officials said training programs developed from previous LNAs have continued to evolve to keep pace with industry changes. These include modules on gender and development, digital skills, tourism investment promotion, and other emerging competencies needed by tourism workers.
DOT-8 Regional Director Karina Rosa Tiopes said the results of the latest assessment will help the agency prioritize programs that address the most pressing needs of the tourism sector.
“We envision that the result of this year’s LNA would guide us properly to identify what it is we should really address. Even with limited budgets, we want to prudently select what is needed the most and where it is needed the most,” Tiopes said.
(RALPH AUSTIN FERNADEZ,LNU STUDENT INTERN)
