Mariano Marcos
State University

CHED STEP-UP brings MMSU tourism, hospitality faculty to Vietnam for industry best practices

By Ian Paul Villanueva

Six faculty members of the MMSU Department of Tourism and Hospitality Management of the College of Business, Economics, and Accountancy engaged in a five-day industry-based training program in Ho Chi Minh City and Phu Quoc, Vietnam, from June 15 to 19, 2026.

Funded through the Commission on Higher Education’s Sustainable Tourism Education Program Upgrading Project (STEP-UP), the training featured visits to the University of Economics and Finance and Ho Chi Minh City Open University.

The immersion also included stops at popular Vietnamese tourism and hospitality institutions, Eh Event, Du Lam Roasters, Rooty Trip, Wyndham Grand Phu Quoc, and Sheraton Phu Quoc Long Beach Resort.

These immersive experiences allowed the MMSU delegation, composed of Dr. Sheila Baquiran, Dr. Eva Jean Viernes, Mr. Quincy Savellano, Mr. Jerico Padamada, Ms. Kathleen Kay Tomas, and Ms. Princess Muñoz, to closely examine service standards, guest engagement strategies, and the operational efficiency of different hotel settings.

Moreover, the group’s engagement with Rooty Trip, a tourism enterprise, provided valuable learning on cross-border travel operations, including payment systems, collaboration with international partners, guest experience management, and the strategic use of digital platforms for tourism marketing.

Dr. Baquiran said the department had also undergone prior local training with Filipino tourism and hospitality entities. She added that such local and international training and industry exposures of MMSU’s faculty members provide valuable learning experiences for the benefit of the learners.

“It is beneficial on our part as faculty members to gain firsthand experiences and observations of what goes on in the tourism and hospitality industries. Just as importantly, our exposure to international institutions gives us concrete examples we can use inside the classroom, even as our university aims to be a premier Southeast Asian university,” she said.

Besides industry-based exposures, MMSU also benefits from the STEP UP funding through several tourism and hospitality education-related projects that are either already finished or currently in the works.

The refurbishment of the MMSU Mansion and the establishment of Tourism and Hospitality Education (THE) Trend Travel and Tours, located at the MMSU Hostel, are some of the completed projects or are nearing completion. Meanwhile, THE Trend Pastry Café and THE Trend Hotel, soon to rise at the National Bioenergy Research and Innovation Center, are currently underway.

Dr. Baquiran, project leader of MMSU STEP-UP, noted that the immersion experiences of the faculty members are vital in strengthening their competencies and enabling their effective management of the said facilities for instruction and training.