PARACELIS, Mtn. Prov.– More than 40 individuals opted to actively participate in the conduct of a 3-day tour guide training in this easternmost part of the province.
A first training for guides in the municipality, it was done in preparation for the coming of visitors and tourists in the town as the municipality opens up for tourism.
An item in the local government unit has been created and is now filled up to cater to the tourism concerns of the place.
A month ago, the primary tourism spot in the municipality, the Mabarotbot “Bubbling” Mud, was featured by the KMJS segment of the GMA Channel TV.
Paracelis has other tourist spots like the Canavo and Ansawang Waterfalls, Iyo Falls, Nansuso earth mounds, little chocolate hills, Siffu River, and a hosts of other attractions.
“Tourists planning to come here in the near future contacted me. So we facilitated this training”, said Flora Madanom, the newly appointed Municipal Tourism Action Officer (MTAO) in anticipation of the visits of tourists.
Madanom said that tour guides are needed as she cannot assist all the visitors and tourists visiting the different barangays of the municipality.
The training was facilitated by the tour guide officers and members of the newly organized Mountain Province Cave and Eco-Tour Guides Association (MPCETG A) in coordination with the Provincial Tourism Office and Municipal Tourism Office.
The MPCETGA was organized as an offshoot of the provincial wide training of tour guides conducted by the Department of Tourism-Cordillera Administrative Region(DOT-CAR) last year in Sagada.
Basic Tourism orientation was given by the Provincial Tourism Office as well as the dos and don’ts of tour guiding while the MPCETGA shared the principles of Basic Tour Guiding, Flora and Fauna, Basic First Aid, and Basic Mountaineering.
In the morning of the third day, a mock tour was conducted wherein the participants were engaged in Tour Spiel.
Jay R Guindalos, the leader of the team emphasized that the training would capacitate the would be tour guides with the basic skills in tour guiding in this eastern town.
“We hope that after this training, we will have tour guides available to cater to the needs of the increasing tourists in the town”, he said.
In his welcome remarks, Mayor Avelino Amangyen underscored the need for tour guides in the town as there are now tourists coming to town to visit the attractions the town has to offer.
“Even tourists from down town Isabela come here to enjoy the breathtaking sceneries,” Amangyen said. **Roger Sacyaten
