Revisiting Intramuros...Training the Tour Guides Trainers

Many foreign and local visitors travel around the 7,107 islands in the Philippines. As school year 2014-2015 comes to an end, we have started planning for places to go and bond with family and friends to beat the summer heat.



However, a tour to new places will be more meaningful and interesting with tour guides. 



Tourism Secretary Ramon Jimenez once said that the best storytellers in the land are the tour guides.

 
The Department of Tourism, Office of Tourism Standards and Regulation recently conducted the first Tour Guide Train-the-Trainers Seminar held at the Bayleaf, Intramuros, Manila. There were 39 Department of Tourism, Accredited Tour Guides who applied for the said training from all over the Philippines. Requirements to qualify in the said training was for tour guides to be accredited, mentally and physically fit, should be good in oral and written communication, with five years teaching experience and a good sense
 of humor. Thirty applicants were called back for an interview in Cebu, Cagayan and Metro Manila. 16 made it to the training, fully subsidized by the Department of Tourism representing 11 regions. Luckily, it was inspiring enough to have qualified as lone representative for region 6.

Director Rica Bueno of the Tourism Standards and Regulations mentioned in her speech at the start of the training that the Philippines needs to catch up with marketing promotions and help improve the quality of services in the country, she further said that we have to meet the expectations of our guests foreign or local. The trainers training included Training Methodologies, Basic Principles and Dynamics in Conducting Tour Guiding Training/Seminars, Preparing and delivering Lectures and Powerpoint Presentations, Proctoring Written and Rating Practical Exams, Interpreting Results, Walkabouts and Mock Tours were conducted in preparation for the trainers to be and be the overall facilitator of the 25-day training program for tour guides, tourist reception and training techniques 3-day module, community guiding which is a 5-day module and trainers are also expected to be speakers on topics like tour guiding skills, reinforce professional ethics and values and many more. Ms. Arlene Alipio, the Officer in Charge for manpower development also said that we should work together being competitive to improve quality of services in the country.




The venue of the said training was at Intramuros also known as the Walled City. The pentagon shaped 64 hectare land area is surrounded by thick walls at 4.5 kilometers in length which brings us back to the Spanish period, in 1571 when Spaniards came headed by master of camp Martin de Goiti and later by conquistador Miguel Lopez de Legazpi. The story begins with the founding of Manila on the site of the old settlement of the Filipino natives headed Rajah Soliman along the river bank of Pasig. 

We were able to conduct a walkabout in our comfortable shoes, with hats, sunglasses as we listened to fellow tour guides talk about places assigned to them, from the Plazuela de Santa Isabel, the Manila Cathedral officially named Basilica of the Immaculate Conception, passing through the Palacio del Gobernador and walked further .

It is suggested to shop at Mananzan handicrafts and proceed to Fort Santiago, admission fee is 50 pesos for students and 75 pesos for adults, this is open daily 8:00 am to 6:00 pm, there is also a free screening of Intramuros video documentary at the Teatro or the visitors center. The kalesa or the horse driven carriages in different designs is an attraction itself when you ride on it around Intramuros. First stop would be Plaza Moriones then you take a selfie with sculptures of Manuel L. Quezon and Mc Arthur seating on a bench. There is a bamboo garden with a round signage in memoriam of the World War II guerillas, it is suggested you start the walkabout early in the morning as this will be a long walk on a sunny day, and bring a bottle water too. 


There was Dr. Jose Rizal’s monument, the walls facing Pasig River, Dungeons and the Memorial Cross, Rizal shrine, Balauarte de san Miguel, the Picnic Area, and American Barracks, the Karitela and the Tramvia, we also had a mobile mock tour along Roxas Boulevard talking about the different national offices, Post Office, Bureau of Immigration, National Museum, Quirino Grandstand, Coconut Palace, Ocean Park, Start City, Manila Yacht Club, Fold Arts Theater, PICC, Ermita District, Rizal Monument and Rizal Park and a lot of sculptures along the way, from Vicente Lim, FPJ, Cory Aquino and Jose P. Laurel. We were given written exams and finally finished the course after four days.