Importance of clean restrooms to tourism cited

Some of the country’s tourist vistas may inadvertently be driving away the local and foreign tourists without knowing it.

On the surface, many tourist destinations may look attractive and welcoming, but even the most sumptuous food and hospitable smiles would stack up poorly when these establishments are found guilty when it comes to maintaining clean restrooms.

Recognizing the important contribution that a clean restroom can bring to the Philippine tourism industry, the Department of Tourism (DOT) and media agency Comfort Ads spearheaded the formation of the first-ever Toilet Recognition of the Year (TROY) Awards last year. Joining the DOT and Comfort Ads in presenting the awards to winners recently were contest sponsors Kimberly Clark and United Laboratories.

The TROY Awards, a nationwide joint project of concerned sectors, represents a ground-breaking move to finally recognize the most well-kept restrooms in public and private establishments across the country. The awards aims to promote a culture of sanitation and hygiene among Filipinos that would help boost tourism and introduce a whole new outlook about the upkeep of one’s immediate environments.

“We are very proud of the success of the TROY Awards and are happy with the fact that its impact is already being felt even if the program is just on its first year,” said Michelle Buan-Quintana, president of Comfort Ads, DOT’s partner in the TROY Awards.

“A lot of establishment owners do not realize the major contribution that clean restrooms play in attracting more tourism and business into the country, and this program helps in educating them about this fact. With this, we also hope to establish high standards for restroom maintenance among establishment owners,” she added.

The TROY Awards held its awarding ceremonies recently at the Holiday Inn Galleria Suites in Ortigas Center and handed out awards in three categories: Regional, National and Special Awards.

Regional winners were the cities of Mandaluyong, Baguio, Dagupan, Cauayan, Angeles, Antipolo, Tabaco, Cagayan de Oro, Davao, Koronadal, and the municipality of Carmen, Agusan del Norte. National winners were the local government units of the cities of Cagayan de Oro and Antipolo, and the municipalities of Pili, Camarines Sur and Carmen, Agusan del Norte.

Recipients of Special Awards were the Shangri-La Plaza Mall in Mandaluyong City; Formula 1 Convenience Center in North Luzon Expressway in Mexico, Pampanga; and Petron South Mega Service Center in San Pedro, Laguna.

Comfort Ads, is a non-traditional media agency that has pioneered innovative media placements in local public toilets. Since it was established in the 1990s, the agency has successfully responded to the advertising needs of its niche market. It has always been a strong advocate of the importance of clean restrooms.

Aside from supporting the TROY Awards, Comfort Ads has participated in other tourism boosting programs such as Toilethics, an ongoing information campaign on the proper use of restrooms, which the TROY Awards is a big component of.