Baguio Trains More than Eight Hundred Police in FBSE to Improve its Tourist Handling and Drive Quality Tourism Growth

Baguio is also promoting quality growth in tourism by developing and enhancing the experience that visitors feel on the ground. Currently, 850 personnel of Baguio City Police Office, or BCPO, have received training in Filipino Brand of Service Excellence or FBSE, a national service program initiated by the Department of Tourism or DOT. Why is it so important? It is very simple yet very effective, as it aims to provide a safer, more peaceful, and friendlier city environment, which is further magnified by Baguio being a preferred destination by hundreds of thousands of Filipino visitors every year.

Why Quality Tourism Growth Depends on Trust, Not Just Visitor Numbers

Quality tourism growth is not about higher headcounts alone. It is about visitors staying longer, spending more locally, returning, and recommending the destination because they felt safe and respected. Training police officers in service excellence directly supports that model, because safety and service are often the first and last impressions tourists take home.

When travelers can ask for directions, report concerns, or seek help without fear of being ignored or misunderstood, they explore more confidently. That confidence encourages broader movement across the city, boosts spending in more areas, and reduces negative experiences that can damage reputation. In a destination like Baguio, where peak weekends and holidays bring heavy crowds, better communication and calm conflict handling can be the difference between a stressful trip and a memorable one.

De Escalation Skills Improve Safety While Protecting the Visitor Experience

Maj. Marron noted that the training improves officers’ ability to engage the public, reduce tensions, and deliver more effective responses. Better communication also strengthens public trust and cooperation, which supports peace and order across the city.

For quality tourism growth, this matters because safety today is not only about preventing crime. It is also about preventing confusion, panic, and avoidable conflict in crowded places like transport hubs, markets, event venues, and major viewpoints. De-escalation helps keep public spaces calm, which protects the destination’s atmosphere and encourages visitors to keep exploring rather than cutting trips short.

Training Spans Tourist Units and All Core Police Teams for Consistent Standards

The trained personnel came from 10 police stations, the Tourist Police Unit, the Mobile Patrol Unit, the City Mobile Force Company, and the city police headquarters. This broad coverage supports consistency, which is a major marker of quality in tourism.

Tourists do not plan their interactions with law enforcement. They happen randomly—at traffic points, during festivals, near hotels, or when asking for help. When service standards are consistent across units, visitors get the same calm, respectful approach no matter where they are in the city. That consistency strengthens the feeling that Baguio is organized and visitor-ready, which feeds directly into quality tourism positioning.

DOT Positions FBSE as a Values Based Standard for Professional Service

DOT Cordillera regional director Jovita Ganongan described FBSE as building a service-oriented mindset grounded in Filipino values, including malasakit or compassion, alongside courtesy and integrity. She noted it strengthens professionalism and ethical conduct.

That values-based focus is central to quality tourism growth. It supports service that feels human, respectful, and culturally authentic, rather than robotic. When public-facing services reflect warmth and integrity, it strengthens the overall destination brand. Visitors remember those moments—especially when they are far from home and need help.

FBSE Builds Culture Centered Hospitality Across Multiple Sectors

FBSE is a national DOT initiative created to standardize and promote world-class hospitality by embedding Filipino values such as warmth, joy, bayanihan or community spirit, and hope into service delivery. It is being used across sectors that shape the visitor journey, including public transport, tourism students, and hospitality workers.

For quality tourism growth, this is important because the visitor experience is a chain. A great hotel stay can be undone by poor transport interactions, and a beautiful attraction can be overshadowed by confusion or rude service. By expanding FBSE training across multiple frontline sectors, the DOT is working toward a consistent national hospitality feel, making destinations like Baguio more competitive and more reliable for both domestic and international travelers.

GUEST and HEART Give Police Practical Tools for Service Recovery

FBSE includes three modules, including the GUEST technique—Greeting, Understanding, Empathizing, Serving, and Thanking or Telling—and the HEART method—Hear, Empathize, Apologize, Resolve, and Thank—for handling complaints and service recovery.

These tools are valuable in real tourism scenarios. They can help officers manage misunderstandings, assist lost visitors, support travelers during disruptions, and respond to complaints in a way that calms people rather than escalating issues. In quality tourism growth, service recovery is crucial because problems will happen. What matters is how fast and how respectfully they are resolved.

Quality Tourism Growth Impact for Baguio and the Cordillera Region

Baguio’s decision to train a large portion of its police force under FBSE is a clear move toward quality tourism growth. It strengthens the city’s ability to host more visitors without losing the feeling of comfort and safety that makes people return. It also supports the wider Cordillera tourism brand, because Baguio often acts as the gateway city for travelers heading deeper into the region.

When tourists feel safer and better guided, they are more likely to add side trips, book tours, and extend stays—behaviors that increase local economic benefits without depending only on higher volume. That is the heart of quality growth: better experiences, higher visitor satisfaction, and stronger local value per trip.

Future Impact as Service Excellence Becomes a Competitive Advantage

Moving forward, this type of training can definitely help the city of Baguio retain its strength in the tourism industry amidst the increasing level of tourist service expectations. This is because tourists nowadays compare different destinations in various aspects, including service, safety responses, and the extent to which they feel welcome. This is where the police, if trained to enhance their service responses and interactions, can definitely help improve the city’s standing amid the increasing challenges of the tourist season.

If other places follow suit with such programs, then it will help to cultivate a better image for the Philippines to promote it as an organized, warm, and visitor-friendly travel place. For Baguio, it certainly has an excellent start with greater trust built, better visitor experiences, and a better foundation for growth of quality tourism.

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