Melo Villareal
Philippine tourism establishments adapt international star rating system; jumps from 82nd to 74th rank of tourism competitiveness in 2 years
In the effort to become globally competitive in the field of tourism, the Department of Tourism (DoT) is urging hotels, resorts, apartment hotels, and other types of accommodation providers in the Philippines to adopt an internationally recognized star rating system. Countries which have applied this star rating system—which is based on the rule that the more stars, the more luxury and quality accommodation an establishment provides—include Austria, Belgium, Great Britain, Denmark, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Ireland, Malta, Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, and Switzerland.
Philippines Hotel Star Rating System
“The introduction of such a system must be considered as a long term, multigenerational project, involving significant culture change, the acquisition and development of new skills at staff and management levels, capital investment, all based on very good insights about the visitor and the requirements,” Registrar of Standards for Fáilte Ireland John Mulcahy said in a statement. “If that is the case, the system will produce significant dividends over a long period of time.”
With the adapting of the worldwide-recognized hotel rating system, DoT and PICTourism hope that the Philippines becomes internationally competitive as well like the aforementioned countries who have implemented the same system. And indeed, the country has improved. From being ranked 82nd last 2013, the Philippines now ranks 74th among the 140 countries surveyed by the World Economic Forum (WEF) Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Report.
The star ranking system will help tourists from all over the world to identify standards of hotels in specific countries, and whether or not these will suit their styles. With the following of the standard of rating, the Philippines adapts a universal rating language that any tourist or traveler will understand, and will thus be able to offer them universally accepted standards as well. The international ranking system will serve as an accurate indicator of quality a tourism establishment can provide.
“When it comes to selecting accommodation, visitors are looking at a number of factors: value for money; choice and variety of type of accommodation; convenient, accessible location; safety and security; cleanliness; and welcome and hospitality,” Executive Director for Scotland at British Hospitality Association Willie Macleod said in a statement.
“A well-established system for hotels and resorts will primarily give tourists confidence in the accommodation they select, and will encourage tourism-related businesses to improve quality to meet consumer expectations.” Macleod added.
In partnership with the organization the Philippines Improving Competitiveness in Tourism (PICTourism), the Department of Tourism is planning to label over 700 tourism-accredited hotels within the country with the new international star rating system. The Tourism Act of 2009 requires all tourism establishments to obtain accreditation from the DoT, so this means that all these enterprises will be following the same star ranking system.
“A well-recognized system of approval helps small businesses to compete, and to understand the market that they are in. As for the staff, an approval system gives them something to work towards, [provided that] employers and owners fully subscribe to the standards and not just pay lip service.” Mulcahy said.
