"Reviving local economy and creating livelihood is DOT's current priority. However, the pandemic has allowed us to be more persistent in our goal to instill accountability in businesses to become more sustainable," Tourism Secretary Berna Romulo-Puyat said in a press statement released Friday night.
Puyat explained that the perks of being accredited equate to getting assistance from the DOT in many aspects of running a tourism enterprise, but more specifically, access to technical tools and experts that can help an establishment make the transition to going green.
“(The) DOT will continue to focus on marketing sustainability to the public, educating them on how to be sustainable tourists while also encouraging tourists to support accredited businesses that have exemplary green practices,” she said.
Setting the foundation
The Tourism Act of 2009, the Philippines’ first and only tourism law, has long served as the top tourism body’s bible in coming up with programs that would benefit the industry.
A recent example is DOT’s 2019 Save Our Spots (SOS) campaign, which aimed to inspire the public, businesses, and communities to have a long-term view on tourism.
Another is the department’s Joint Memorandum Circular on the Rules and Regulations Governing the Conduct of Marine Wildlife Tourism Interaction in the Philippines, together with the departments of environment, agriculture, and interior.
“The DOT has been working on integrating sustainable tourism principles in its projects and policies. We have been teaching our tourists and tourism operators to do the small things we can do to preserve our tourism destinations,” Puyat said.
Through technical assistance from the European Union-GRAT, the DOT developed the ANAHAW Philippine Sustainable Tourism Certification awards in 2018 for the same reason, making it the local equivalent of the Asean Green Hotel Awards.
ANAHAW looks into how accommodation establishments manage and reduce their waste, energy consumption, and water consumption.
Corporate social responsibility is also a factor, with establishments that employ locals and purchase local goods fairing higher in the rating system.Examples of establishments that have received the ANAHAW certification are Crimson Hotel and Spa Mactan in Cebu, Nurture Wellness Village in Tagaytay, Club Balai Isabel in Batangas, and Daluyon Beach and Mountain Resort in Palawan.
Executing the right campaigns and having compliant establishments can only work if tourists themselves recognize their role in the path to sustainable tourism, she said, noting that the main goal of sustainable tourism is for future generations to experience and enjoy the same, if not better, resources present today.