TOURISM Secretary Christina Garcia-Frasco has expressed commitment to support the tourism programs of Mindanao as the province prepares for the upcoming international surfing competition.

Frasco on Friday (July 22) conferred with local leaders of Surigao del Norte where they discussed the current state of the province’s tourism industry.

The officials communicated their concerns to the Secretary, particularly on the aspects of funding, assistance on tourism infrastructure and promotions, sponsorship of the upcoming international surfing competition, formulation of a more specific tourism circuits, proposal of additional air routes and frequencies, rationalization of skyrocketing airfares to and from Siargao, inflight luggage policies, and the expansion of Colors of Mindanao, which is the flagship project of the DOT’s Mindanao office.

General Luna, Siargao Mayor Sol Matugas earlier decided to defer the staging of the Siargao International Surfing Cup after the town’s famous boardwalk, view deck and other facilities at the Cloud 9 surfing area was damaged caused by Typhoon Odette in December last year.

Matugas said however, said the water sports competition will push through only for local surfers.

The Mayor said the local government is expediting the repair of essential facilities in preparation for the planned localized surfing cup later this year.

Surigao de Sur, on the other hand will be holding the Lanuza Surfing Festival on November 14-20, an event that will be participated by different surfers around the country and has recently also attracted foreign competitors.

Frasco then assured the Mindanaoan leaders that the DOT is committed to the promotion of tourism destinations that have not received adequate marketing and promotion in the previous years.

“My directive is to extend all out the support of the Department to the local government units that may not have necessarily received equal attention. It is important to equalize promotion and marketing opportunities to the destinations across the country,” she said.

Frasco underscored the significance of gateway access for tourism infrastructure and transportation development, as earlier pronounced by President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. and commits to collaborating with the Department of Transportation (DOTr) to facilitate the adding of more air, land, and sea transport routes and suppliers to the country’s tier one and tier two destinations.

The tourism chief pledged to convey the concerns of the officials to the sectors concerned.

“In the past few weeks I have been conducting listening tours with the regional directors and the stakeholders. Next week, I am set to meet with all of the airline providers, specifically for the purpose of negotiating for the resumption of direct flights and the increase of international and domestic flights,” she added.

The Tourism Chief was accompanied by 5th District of Cebu Congressman Duke Frasco. Also
in attendance were Surigao del Norte 1st District Representative Francisco Jose Matugas II, Del Carmen Municipal Mayor Alfredo Matugas Coro II, Dapa Municipal Mayor Elizabeth T. Matugas, Dapa Municipal Vice Mayor Gerry Matugas Abejo, and United Philippine Surfing Association (UPSA) Secretary General Gino Canlas.

Meanwhile, Frasco also met with officials of the Intramuros administration as a continuation of
her listening tours.

She personally inspected some sites in The Walled City to fully appreciate its heritage value and to better understand the issues and challenges that affect the operations of the agency.

The tourism chief was accompanied by her two sons, Liam and Franco, as well as
Undersecretary Ferdinand Jumapao.

During the meeting, Frasco noted the importance of maximizing the funding of the agency in order to help in attaining optimum performance in its mandate of creating cultural awareness, cultivating creativity, and amplifying national pride as key elements to tourism development

“Our intention in the DOT is to be able to extend our hand to you as our attached agency and to explore how we can collaborate in a manner that maximizes the tourism potential of the
Intramuros Administration”, Frasco told the heads of the offices of the IA.

“In behalf of the DOT, I extend my heartfelt gratitude to each and everyone of you and I am
looking forward to working with all of you as we push the Intramuros Administration forward, hopefully, not only to recover what has been lost , but to exceed the projections so far with the proper interventions necessary,” she added.

The IA is an attached agency of the DOT, and is responsible for the orderly restoration and development of Intramuros as a monument to the Hispanic period of Philippine history.