MANILA, Philippines – The Department of Tourism is eyeing to launch a “tourist assistance call center” along with a Tourist Lifecycle App, which will provide comfort and connectivity to local and foreign visitors in the country, raising the quality of their travel experience.
During the launch of the Travel Tour Expo 2023, Tourism Secretary Christina Frasco said the DOT is targeting to launch the tourist hotline by the end of the year.
“This year, we are launching a tourist assistance call center that will cater to any and all requests for information and assistance. We fully intend for this tourist assistance call center to be multilingual so as to be able to correspond to the needs of international tourists as well,” Frasco said.
Frasco intends to present the hotline as a one-stop-shop where tourists could access reliable information and seek out help for their concerns, while lessening the incidence of scamming.
Thailand and South Korea have been running a similar system 24/7 so tourists have a go-to for travel-related emergencies and get credible recommendations for sites to visit.
Meanwhile, keeping up with the digitalization of the different government sectors, the Tourist Lifecycle App, a “super app” according to Frasco, aims to connect tourists to accredited tourism establishments, rides, restaurants, tour operators, tour guides, and even e-commerce platforms that offer Filipino products.
This also gives way to more exposure for small and medium-sized enterprises and the grassroots of tourism, making them more capable of contributing to the country’s travel revenue, while also ramping up their livelihood.
Source: Philippine News Agency