TACLOBAN CITY — The Department of Tourism in Eastern Visayas has started the rollout of training on the Filipino Brand of Service Excellence for this year.

But unlike in the previous years where the training was only for the workers in the sector, this year’s FBSE course has included barangay officials from communities where tourist destinations are located.

DOT-8 Regional Director Karina Rosa Tiopes said FBSE is one of the flagship programs of DOT to provide all front liners in the tourism and hospitality industry with a benchmark on how to render excellent services to tourists and guests.

“We have included in the training the barangay chairmen, Sangguniang Kabataan chairmen, and chief tanod because we believe that in order to fully demonstrate the good customs of Eastern Visayas in dealing with visitors and tourists, it must start in the community,” Tiopes said.

Tiopes said DOT-8 targets to train 7,500 individuals in the entire region this year. These include workers in the tourism and hospitality industry, personnel from national government agencies who deal with tourists and uniformed personnel.

She said destinations, sites, and tourism facilities are all located in barangays thus village officials have to undergo FBSE training to teach them how to relate to tourists and ensure that their area is safe, clean, and always presentable to visitors and the people are friendly.