MANILA &ndash; The Department of Tourism (DOT) launched on Monday the Tourist Assistance Call Center that will serve as the hotline and one-stop shop for local and foreign tourists here in the country.
None other than Tourism Secretary Christina Garcia Frasco made the first call to the first-ever centralized and multi-platform contact center launched at the DOT Central Office in Makati City.
She was the first client of the call center agent who personally relayed her queries on diving in Mindanao, to which the agent, based in Angeles City, Pampanga enthusiastically answered her questions.
According to Frasco, the Tourist Assistance Call Center is made available to provide tourism and travel related information, as well as extend assistance if any is needed when there are untoward incidents that may occur during a tourist visit.
&ldquo;We are delighted to launch today the Tourist Assistance Call Center that aims to fulfill our President's vision to enhance the overall tourist experience in the country. This is a first for the Department of Tourism where we have consolidated the modes of assistance that can be given to tourists from the national government agencies and regional offices that will then coordinate with our local government units,&rdquo; Frasco said in a message during the launch.
The convenience of travellers must also be the central focus of the department&rsquo;s efforts and programs.&nbsp; 
She adds, &ldquo;&ldquo;One of the strategic approaches of the National Tourism Development Plan approved by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. is on the aspect of convenience.&rdquo;
According to the DOT, there are an initial eight tourist assistance agents fluent in English and Filipino languages who will be working on shifts as well as two quality assurance team members, and two trainers. 
These are outsourced agents of service provider Universal Access &amp; Systems Solutions (UAS), an IT solutions company. The tourism chief also mentioned plans to expand and "add foreign language-trained agents in time to come". 
However, the Secretary noted that the DOT will not limit the number of agents who will be working for the call center should the need arise.&nbsp; 
The agents have also been trained for three months, with extensive knowledge of tourism and travel services, including the Filipino Brand of Service Excellence (FBSE).&nbsp; 
The agents are ready to receive inquiries beginning today, from local and international tourists traveling to and around the country.&nbsp; 
The Tourist Assistance Call Center will also cater to tourists from different time zones and will be open 24/7, even on public holidays to ensure uninterrupted service. The operating hours or service levels will be the same for weekends and weekdays.&nbsp; 
Call center agents will be taking all kinds of queries as they come, including general tourism inquiries, queries concerning the local level, DOT accreditation guidance, travel assistance, complaint resolution, and emergency assistance, among others.&nbsp; 
However, complex queries will be resolved by the concerned unit and followed through by the call center until resolution.&nbsp; 
All transactions are recorded in a customer relationship management (CRM) with a ticketing system. General Inquiries are resolved within the call or chat. If the concern is for escalation, this is endorsed to the respective DOT regional office (RO), local government unit (LGU), attached agency, or national government agency (NGA) via email.&nbsp;
The public can relay their queries through multi-platform support via hotline number 151-TOUR / 151-8687 or mobile by dialing +63995-835-5155. They may also opt to contact via email at touristassistance@tourism.gov.ph; or through Facebook messenger at https://www.facebook.com/DepartmentOfTourism; web chat at https://philippines.travel/ and https://beta.tourism.gov.ph/; or via https://philippines.travel/ and https://beta.tourism.gov.ph.&nbsp;&nbsp;
&ldquo;We foresee that by providing this tourist assistance call center, this will increase the tourism experience. This will also assist in providing further livelihood and employment opportunities for those in the tourism value chain,&rdquo; Frasco said.

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DOT Launches Tourist Assistance Call Center