THE Asian Development Bank (ADB) said it is proposing the Baguio Resilient City Tourism Project to improve worker productivity and the resiliency of the city’s tourism industry.
Kyaw Thu, an urban development specialist with the ADB, said Baguio has natural hazards, traffic issues and a degraded environment, which all demand intervention.
“The city government recognizes the issues (that require) intervention in Baguio,” Mr. Kyaw said.
In the proposed project, Mr. Kyaw said that an enterprise-led-network skills-development funding model based on Ireland’s SkillNet program can help cultivate priority skill sets.
Piloted in the Philippines with the Department of Tourism (DoT), the funding model is expected to grant networks access to the funds and allow them to collectively nominate their workers and identify common priority training needs.
Worker categories include accommodation, food services, transport, farm tourism, tour operations, creative services and tour guiding, Mr. Kyaw said.
The project also calls for climate change, natural hazards, and overall resilience training which may include energy efficiency and water, waste, greenhouse gas, and carbon footprint reduction training.
The ADB is also looking at setting up training programs in health and safety protocols to complement the DoT’s objective of achieving a safe and resilient tourism rebound.
The project is also considering a digital skills enhancement component, which Mr. Kyaw said can be configured as an emergency response and business continuity planning course, to prepare small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Baguio for all types of emergencies.
“Majority of tourism service providers in Baguio are SMEs and they will benefit from the proposed project through the networks and skill development which include resilience and business development,” Mr. Kyaw said. — Justine Irish D. Tabile