Data Privacy best practices urged in tourism; ‘Reinvented Tourism’ pushed
In light of several cybersecurity breaches and alleged hacking incidents in the Philippines in the past, more businesses are being encouraged to improve on their data privacy and data management practices.
With this, Klik ‘N Fly Travel held another forum last June 1, 2023 at the Heritage Hotel Manila to discuss “Tourism in the post-pandemic era: Reinventing Tourism and Data Privacy Awareness.” The forum was a follow-through of their previous seminar last April 12 that centered on visa processing updates.
The data privacy forum had Rajah Travel Corporation Chairman and President Aileen Clemente and Ivannovich Dmitriv Agote of the Department of Tourism-NCR Tourism Regulation Division as speakers. The event is made possible with One Klik Events Management Services, STARLUX Airlines, and the Department of Tourism.
“With most of our transactions now being done online, it’s very important for both businesses and consumers to be aware of how they manage personal information. Hackers and scammers have become even more creative so we want to be able to help everyone be aware of the risks and know how to protect themselves,” Klik ‘N Fly Travel President Michelle Taylan said.
Rajah President Aileen Clemente also emphasized the need for travelers to be aware of their rights as passengers insofar as to how their personal data is being stored and managed. “It is important for various travel agents to ensure they are compliant with data privacy laws. I believe clients may not realize that agents hold important [passenger data] and it is very important to ensure the safekeeping of those data,” Clemente said.
Taiwan’s newest airline, STARLUX, also shares the same sentiment, vowing to keep passenger data safe and secured. “STARLUX Airlines aims to provide the best quality service to our passengers and part of that is the airline’s commitment to safeguard the data which is important in this digital age,” Claude Angco, STARLUX Airlines Senior Sales Specialist said.
Aside from data management best practices, the Department of Tourism also wants a ‘reinvented and reimagined’ tourism industry for the capital region. Tourism is not solely the work of the Department of Tourism as all of us have a stake in it. DOT-NCR is reinventing and reimagining Metro Manila to create the opportunities that our stakeholders can take advantage of as we all navigate towards recovery,” Ivannovich Dmitriv Agote of the Department of Tourism-NCR Tourism Regulation Division said.
Other events to watch out for
Apart from holding industry-wide seminars, Taylan will also launch in December a non-profit national tourism business organization called Global Tourism Business Association. The initiative is part of efforts to help support the recovery of the tourism industry. “I have been working on this tourism association project since 2018 and was put to hold when I became the Secretary General and President of the Philippine Travel Agencies Association (PTAA). Now that my term has ended, I’m very excited to finally be able to officially launch it. I want to be able to serve and help as many people in our industry and I hope this is a good start to that,” Taylan said. Events to watch out for include the 1st Travel Sale Expo 2023 and the 1st Global Tourism Conference and Trade Fair happening on September 29 to October 1, 2023 with around 40-50 thousand guests expected to participate.
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