Cebu City to host tourism jobs fair on March 13-14

The Department of Tourism (DOT) will hold another Tourism Jobs Fair (TJF) in Cebu City on March 13 to 14 this year to help the booming tourism industry meet its growing manpower requirements.

DOT Secretary Joseph Ace Durano said the Tourism Job Fair in Cebu should help the tourism industry, particularly in Central Visayas, which is now emerging as the country’s tourism hub.

”The growth in the industry’s demand for skilled workers and professionals is quite enormous in the light of the country’s sustained increases in tourism volume. The DOT’s 2008 target of 3.5 million foreign arrivals and the continued influx of tourism investments, makes the 3rd TJF an absolute necessity,” Durano said.

The 3rd TJF, which will be at the SM City Cebu on March 13 to 14, comes on the heels of the 3.09 million foreign arrivals and 4.885 billion dollars foreign exchange receipts that the DOT has posted for 2007.

The TJF has proven to be effective in generating employment for the industry since it is the country’s only job fair that focuses on tourism enabling the DOT to create a system for methodical matching between the applicants’ qualifications and the industry’s skills requirements, the DOT said.

Jobseekers can file their applications by registering online at www.tourismjobs. ph, where DOT-accredited employers posted job openings.

Prospective applicants may register online for the early evaluation of their qualifications and find possible job offerings this early.

The accredited employers for the Tourism Job Fair are airline companies, shipping/cruise companies, hotels, resorts, restaurants, travel agencies, tour operators, convention and exhibition centers, spa and wellness establishments, recruitment firms, golf clubs, malls and department stores, call centers and business process outsourcing companies, banks, schools, government agencies, and entertainment outfits, among others.

The various sectors in the tourism industry contributed significantly to the historic 7.3 percent growth in the gross domestic product in 2007.

The industry encompasses a wide range of economic sector with an influence that goes as far as agriculture manufacturing, finance, real estate, energy and transportation, among many others, DOT’s statement said.

”Thus, the TJF, as a key component of the DOT’s holistic growth program is also our way of physically and directly cascading the fruits of economic progress to the grassroots,” Durano said.