Pormal na nakipag-partner ang Department of Tourism (DoT) nitong Martes sa Guide to the Philippines, isang -commerce site, sa paglulunsad ng kanyang official travel booking system, na nagtatampok sa DoT-accredited tour operators at establishments.

Ang booking site, masisilip sa https://guidetothephilippines.ph, ay ipinakilala kasabay ng bagong Philippine tourism website na philippines.travel.

Sa paglalagda sa memorandum of agreement kay Guide to the Philippines General Manager Rabbi Vincent Ang, binigyang-diin ni Tourism chief Bernadette Romulo-Puyat ang evolving trends sa travel and tourism.

“Digital transformation whether you like it or not is inevitable, that is why we in the DOT are dedicated to innovating our tourism products and services to maintain the competitiveness of the industry,” aniya.

Ang pagpapakilala sa booking website ay kasunod ng pag-aaral ng DoT noong 2016 na nagbubunyag na ang booking sites ay “one of the most influential channels” sa pagsasaalang-alang ng isang turista sa isang destinasyon.

Sa pamamagitan ng sistema na pamamahalaan ng Guide to the Philippines, maaaring mamili ang mga turista sa mahigit 500 best-value travel products na iniaalok ng DoT-accredited tourism establishments at tour operators.

Sinabi ni DoT Assistant Secretary Howard Lance Uyking na ang sistema ay mayroong online library ng in-depth travel guides na makatutulong sa mga biyahero upang mas maayos na maplano ang kanilang biyahe.

“If you’ve gone around social media, you can see a lot of posts where dream vacation was ruined because of the tour operator’s mismanagement so that’s what we’re trying to resolve when you accredit with DoT because we’re putting a set of standards to assure customer service,” aniya sa isang panayam.

Ang accredited tourism establishments na interesadong sumali ay maaring makipag-ugnayahn sa Tourism Congress of the Philippines (TCP), dagdag ni Uyking.

“You can always tell TCP to join the website and then we can link you to Guide to the Philippines. We can feature you as long as you have good offers and the quality of your packages (is good), there’s no entrance fee,” aniya.