Cultural heritage tourism jobs yesterday took center stage as the Department of Labor and Employment's Institute for Labor Studies (ILS) held a forum on cultural heritage tourism at the Ortigas Foundation Library in Pasig City.

With the theme, “It's more Fun in the Philippines: Potentials of  Cultural Heritage as a Driver for Economic Opportunities and Employment Generation,” the forum was a collaboration between the Ortigas Foundation and the ILS, which is the policy research and advocacy arm of the DOLE.

On the other hand, Ortigas Foundation is Ortigas & Company’s corporate social responsibility arm. Established in November 1996, it supports the study of Philippine history, culture, and arts and has embraced a host of other projects and programs with a variety of concerns, participating in initiatives where its support is most needed, to help advance a society that is proud of its Filipino culture.

“The DOLE continues to work on creating opportunities for decent and productive employment. The preservation of cultural heritage would surely create new jobs and generate investments," said Labor and Employment Secretary Rosalinda Dimapilis-Baldoz at the forum.

"We are very much eager to support the cultural heritage sector not only for its potential to spur employment, but for its role in promoting a deeper appreciation of our culture as a people especially among the youth,” Baldoz added.

The DOLE office itself is located in historic Intramuros, which is home to a lot of historic sites.

Baldoz explained that getting the youth into cultural heritage tourism will give it the necessary boost in terms of packaging and appeal to the younger audience and ordinary citizens, while increasing their income potential, adding further that creating employment in cultural heritage tourism is in line with the Labor and Employment Plan (LEP) 2011-2016 being spearheaded by the DOLE.
It has been observed that among tourists in general, cultural tourists spend substantially more than ordinary tourists. An area for tourism that is the largest and fastest growing global tourism market, cultural heritage tourism covers traveling to experience the places, artifacts, and activities that authentically represent the stories and people of the past and present.

“With the success of the Department of Tourism's campaign, 'It’s More Fun in the Philippines,' we see an upsurge of tourists who will be greeted by our tourism workers, led by no less than our tour guides, our tour drivers, our hotel and restaurant personnel, and other workers involved in the whole tourism cycle," said Baldoz.

The forum provided the participants an opportunity to zero in on training heritage tourism workers in work that involved greeting tourists properly and delivering quality service; and in providing livelihood opportunities for cultural products could be developed and sold so that tourists would have something to remember the Philippines by and give them reason to return.

ILS Executive Director Cynthia Cruz said she hoped the forum will result to the crafting of a framework for an employment plan that addresses the needs of tourism actors and operators and local government units as well as tourists in a country-wide strategic approach.

Speakers in the forum included John Silva, Ortigas Foundation Executive Director; Gemma Cruz-Araneta, Director, Manila Tourism Bureau; and Jeannie Javelosa, Curator of the Yuchengco Museum.

“We hope that this will be a start of collaboration between the DOLE and its tripartite partners towards facilitating job generation in the country, particularly in the heritage tourism industry,” said Cruz, who emphasized that one of the strategies identified in improving employment levels under the Labor and Employment Plan 2011-2016 is focusing policies and programs on key job generating areas such as tourism.

The ILS was created in July 1987 by virtue of Executive Order No. 257. Since its creation the Institute has always been at the forefront of labor and employment policy research and advocacy providing strategic policy research for the Department of Labor and Employment.

(For more information on this press release please contact Ms. LINARTES M. VILORIA,Chief Labor & Employment Officer, Advocacy & Publications Division,Institute for Labor Studies, Telephone Nos.: 5273490 / 5273447)