| James Kon |
AS THE Lead Coordinator for the ASEAN Public Toilet Standard, Brunei Darussalam through the Tourism Development Department under the Ministry of Primary Resources and Tourism (MPRT) organised the ASEAN Public Toilet Auditor Training for a second time at the Horticulture Business Centre in Rimba, Gadong yesterday.
Ten participants including representatives from ASEAN member states Cambodia, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam as well as various local government agencies attended the one-day training which aimed to prepare ASEAN member countries for the upcoming ASEAN Public Toilet Award 2019 which will be held in January next year during the ASEAN Tourism Forum 2019 at Ha Long Bay, Vietnam.
The auditor training, which covered theory and practical sessions, was conducted to introduce the methodology and key requirements for the assessment of public toilets based on the ASEAN Public Toilet Standard. For the practical session, participants conducted public toilet audits at a shopping complex and restaurant located in Bandar Seri Begawan.
Deputy Permanent Secretary (Tourism) at the MPRT Wardi bin Haji Mohammad Ali presented certificates of completion of the ASEAN Public Toilet Standard Auditor Training to the participants at a ceremony held at the Multipurpose Hall of the Yayasan Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Complex.
In its efforts to tackle issues of public toilet cleanliness, the MPRT in cooperation with several government agencies continues to create awareness and monitor previously-graded public toilet owners/managers and work with them to ensure they maintain the standard level of cleanliness at their facilities.
The first ASEAN Spa Services Award, ASEAN Homestay and ASEAN Community Based Tourism (CBT) Award will also be presented during the ASEAN Tourism Forum 2019 in Ha Long Bay.
The ASEAN Public Toilet Standard was developed with the objective to ensure the quality, comfort, safety and proper waste management of public toilets in general at tourist destinations within the ASEAN region.