The travel and tour industry in Cebu is huge, and there are a lot of players–from hotels, and transport to tours and travel agencies. Due to the need to have cohesive efforts in promoting Cebu as a tourist destination, the various industry players have come together through forming associations which work for the common good of its members.
Tours7 stands for Tourism Operators Unite in Region 7. It is a SEC-registered entity composed of approximately 25 travel companies to date. Tours7 is the recognized Cebu chapter of the National Association of Independent Travel Agencies – Philippines (NAITAS – Philippines).
Tours7 is one of the tour associations in Cebu. Its members are accredited by the Philippine Department of Tourism (DOT). Interested parties who wish to join Tours7 and who are not yet accredited by the DOT are encouraged to go through the accreditation process, as this is one of the pre-requisites to becoming a full-fledged association member.
Members of Tours7 are given the opportunity to join familiarization trips, learning sessions and at times, even if they are friendly competitors, they get to collaborate on consortium arrangements and special projects as well. It’s a big wide world out there, and it does not hurt to have good friends in the industry that you can count on.
Regarding familiarization trips, the members have recently gone to places like Bohol, Leyte and Samar as well as Surigao and Siargao. This could not have been possible with dynamic team members working on strategic linkages, plus the overwhelming support of hotels and the various DOT regional offices. These are geared not for leisure and vacation of the joining travel agencies, but for business development, so we may be able to effectively promote destinations to our respective guests.
As to learning sessions, so far members have had short talks and Q&As regarding business taxes and soon business etiquette and social graces. The learning sessions normally take place after a Tours7 General Membership Meeting, so that the managers and office representatives can take time to learn new things and improve on business processes.
So far, as to collaborative efforts, members of Tours7 have run a booth during the International Travel Festival (ITF) in Ayala Center Cebu during the event’s first and second years, thanks to the generosity of and opportunity given by My Eventology, the group behind ITF. Tours7 also had a booth in one of the travel fairs organized by NAITAS called the NAITAS Travel and Trade Show (NTTS). Lastly, early 2016, members also cooperated with each other during the International Eucharistic Congress in providing tour arrangements for the various delegates. Tours7 worked with other travel associations in Cebu as well.
Green Earth Tours and Travel is a proud member of Tours7. The travel agency operates tours in Cebu and offers tour packages in other destinations in Region 7 too, among others. If you need help with your tour arrangements and events, you may reach Green Earth at (032) 2386625 or email us at gett.inc@gmail.com. Alternatively, if you want to reach out to Tours7, please feel free to let us know so we can endorse you to the proper parties.