Empowering Industry Professionals in Cebu, Philippines: Successful Hotel Sustainability Training in Collaboration with GSTC and USAID
Agoda, in partnership with the Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC) and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), successfully concluded the Hotel Sustainability Training for Industry Professionals on September 6, 2024. This two-day training held in Cebu, Philippines, aimed to equip hoteliers with the skills and knowledge necessary to implement sustainable tourism practices in line with GSTC Criteria, the global standards for sustainability in travel and tourism.
The training, held at the Quest Hotel and Conference Center Cebu, brought together over 40 participants from the hospitality industry. The event began with opening remarks from Ms. Massa Dunnaville, Mission Economist at USAID, Dr. Gelena N. Asis-Dimpas, EnP, Assistant Regional Director at the Department of Tourism, and Mr. Mike Hwang, Country Director at Agoda, setting the stage for discussions on sustainability and collaboration in the tourism industry.
The event offered hoteliers a valuable opportunity to deepen their knowledge of sustainable development under the expert guidance of CB Ramkumar, Vice Chair and GSTC Trainer, alongside Trang Nguyen, also a GSTC Trainer.
This marks the 8th training in collaboration between Agoda and GSTC and the fourth in partnership with USAID through the U.S. Support for Economic Growth in Asia (US-SEGA) project. It builds on the success of previous trainings held in Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, India, Nepal, and Sri Lanka, which benefited nearly 400 hoteliers.
“Cebu and its islands are a beautiful cluster that is unspoilt by over-tourism – as yet. The hoteliers in this training also back sustainability principles, practices, and processes to ensure that their hotels specifically, and Cebu in general, takes the path into sustainability as detailed in the GSTC framework. The general enthusiasm of the hoteliers during the training gives us good reason to believe that they will do all it takes to further their business and sustainability goals. I wish them the very best in their journey,” said Mr. CB Ramkumar, Vice Chair of GSTC.
Reflecting on the event, Boratay Uysal, CSR & Sustainability Senior Manager of Agoda, shared, “The Philippines is recognized as highly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change, making the tourism sector’s sustainability efforts more crucial than ever. We believe this training arrives at the perfect time and place, and we are thrilled by the enthusiasm and interest shown by our accommodation partners in embracing sustainable practices.”
USAID Philippines Mission Economist, Massa Dunnaville stated that “USAID supports activities that serve dual goals of sustainable resource management and lifting livelihoods from poverty. Development and business leaders alike recognize that by collaborating and leveraging each other’s unique resources, assets, and skill-set, they can tackle problems together that neither of them could solve alone.”
Participants learned from best practices and real-world hotel case studies and were able to dive in-depth into the GSTC Hotel Criteria.
Upon successful course completion, participants receive a certificate of attendance and meet the training requirement for earning the GSTC Professional Certificate in Sustainable Tourism, which can be obtained through an online exam provided by the GSTC in the following four weeks of the training. US-SEGA, Sustainable Tourism Development Initiative partner, provides scholarships for participants to take the official GSTC Sustainable Tourism Exam.
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