1st Philippine tour guides summit

The Manila Times

1st Philippine tour guides summit  The inaugural Philippine Tour Guides Summit, themed “Love Our Islands, Love Our Stories,” took place on September 17, 2025, at Fili Hotel, NUSTAR Cebu, bringing together tourism professionals from across the country.  Alma Rita Jimenez, former undersecretary of the Department of Tourism and now CEO of Health Solutions Corp., stressed the importance of collaboration, inclusivity, and innovation in building a sustainable tourism sector.  She encouraged tour guides to act as cultural ambassadors, turning every visit into an opportunity for visitors to connect with local communities.   KAISER JAN FUENTES  Subscribe to The Manila Times Channel - https://tmt.ph/YTSubscribe  Visit our website at https://www.manilatimes.net     Follow us:  Facebook - https://tmt.ph/facebook  Instagram - https://tmt.ph/instagram  Twitter - https://tmt.ph/twitter  DailyMotion - https://tmt.ph/dailymotion    Subscribe to our Digital Edition - https://tmt.ph/digital    Check out our Podcasts:  Spotify - https://tmt.ph/spotify  Apple Podcasts - https://tmt.ph/applepodcasts  Amazon Music - https://tmt.ph/amazonmusic  Deezer: https://tmt.ph/deezer  Stitcher: https://tmt.ph/stitcher Tune In: https://tmt.ph/tunein   #themanilatimes #tmtnews #philippines

Transcript

00:00The industry has been treated as a transactional sector, an exchange of money for movement.

00:07We count arrivals, we chase revenues, we build for visibility.

00:13And there's nothing wrong with that.

00:15These are tangible performance measures because after all, tourism is a business.

00:21But when we regard tourism as mere product to be sold,

00:25its unique value proposition gets harder and harder to define.

00:31When tourism becomes purely transactional, we risk reducing communities to commodities.

00:38We risk turning culture into content,

00:41and we risk forgetting that behind every destination is a story, a soul, and a stewardship.

00:48In other words, we risk short-selling our destinations instead of cultivating relationships

00:56that ensure steadily growing market in step with our absorptive capacity to provide quality experience.

01:04The uncertainties of the times is an opportunity to challenge our thinking and reframe our questions.

01:13Because we might just get a different and more substantive answers.

01:19What are we really building when we build tourism?

01:23What if tourism is not just an industry, but a movement of people, ideas, and possibilities,

01:33of dignity, of stewardship, and shared legacy?

01:38And what if tourism is actually a trust-building platform

01:43with destinations, not just places that tourists visit, but experiences they remember, return to, and advocate?

01:53For because what we share with them changes how they see our culture, our nature, and our people.

02:01Let us therefore revisit how we are building our tourism market

02:05and reimagine, not just how we promote our destinations,

02:11but how we build tourism, a shared mission,

02:14anchored on innovation, inclusivity, and collaboration.

02:18And today is a good time to remind ourselves

02:21what tourism should be all about

02:23by taking time to reflect on what it stands for.

02:28Tourism is the art of turning places into purpose.

02:32We've built brochures, not bridges.

02:36We've sold sunsets, but not stories.

03:02Tourism is the art of turning places.

03:08We've also known leideratha and the passion for tourism.

03:11Tourism is often found to be found in the world of tourismasion.

03:16Indian World is a being the tourist shelter.

03:18近 Budd as a war on peace and Syria.

03:21It's a kind of ÷festo.

03:24It must be a beautiful place...

03:27...

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