DOT launches mobile app for Bicol visitors

By Marlon Atun

LEGAZPI CITY, Albay --- The regional office of the Department of Tourism has launched a mobile application to guide tourists visiting the Bicol region.

The app is also being used to collect data on tourist arrivals.

Director Herbie Aguas of the tourism department’s regional office said that the app which is called the tourism operations protocol system, or TOPSystem, enables visitors to check out information on tourist spots in Bicol, at the same time, enabling the local DOT to capture the real-time arrival of tourists in the region.

The system is available in English, Spanish, Chinese, French, Korean, and Arabic.

The project aims to attract more tourists to the region and provide sustainable socioeconomic opportunities to the locals.

Actual arrival data from primary and secondary tourism enterprises will be collected to monitor trends and analyze and formulate policies.

To ensure that the TOPSystem will be accessible to the public, DoT has partnered with Mindconcept Solutions.

Aguas said the TOPSystem is the first mobile app of its kind in the Philippines. The Bicol region will be the first to use this technology.

Aguas said the DoT is looking for partnerships with local government units at the provincial, city, and municipal levels to implement the system.

Local governments will have to pay a minimal subscription fee to use the system.

Just the same, anyone can access it by searching TOPS.NET.PH on Google Chrome. Click: https://tops.net.ph/ords/r/ mcs/tops/home

The new system will eventually be used as a marketing tool to promote local tourist destinations to both local and international tourists.

From January to June, the DoT in Bicol recorded at least 1,478,557 tourist arrivals.

Among the six provinces of Bicol, Camarines Norte had the highest number of tourist arrivals with 530,181 followed by Albay with 482,060; Camarines Sur, 298,947; Catanduanes, 64,971; Sorsogon province, 29,423; Sorsogon City, 36,079; Masbate province, 773; and Masbate City, 36,123. (MBA edited by EAD, PIA 5)