Mindanao important ‘key’ to PH tourism transformation—DOT Chief
ADDRESSING guests at the second Mindanao Tourism Expo (MTEx) in Cagayan de Oro City, Department of Tourism (DOT) Secretary Christina Garcia Frasco on Friday (Apr. 26) emphasized the pivotal role of Mindanao in the Philippines’ tourism transformation.
“𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘔𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘢𝘯𝘢𝘰 𝘛𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘮 𝘌𝘹𝘱𝘰 𝘪𝘴 𝘢 𝘧𝘭𝘢𝘨𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘱 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘮 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘔𝘢𝘳𝘤𝘰𝘴 𝘢𝘥𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘨𝘯𝘪𝘻𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘱𝘰𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘰𝘧 𝘔𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘢𝘯𝘢𝘰 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘱 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘗𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘱𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘤𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘗𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘵’𝘴 𝘷𝘪𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘴𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘯𝘨𝘢 𝘢𝘯𝘨 𝘗𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘴 𝘮𝘢𝘰 𝘢𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘢𝘩𝘪𝘮𝘰 𝘯𝘨𝘢 𝘴𝘶𝘯𝘰𝘥 𝘯𝘢 𝘈𝘴𝘪𝘢’𝘴 𝘯𝘦𝘹𝘵 𝘵𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘮 𝘱𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘦. 𝘕𝘢𝘢 𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘩𝘪 𝘢𝘯𝘨 𝘔𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘢𝘯𝘢𝘰 𝘢𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘶𝘴𝘪 𝘴𝘢 𝘬𝘢𝘭𝘢𝘮𝘣𝘶𝘢𝘯 𝘴𝘢 𝘢𝘵𝘶𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘮𝘰,” Secretary Frasco.
Highliting the unrivaled sights, delectable cuisine, rich and diverse culture, biodiversity, and the warmth and hospitality of people across the provinces Mindanao, Secretary Frasco shared that one of the first things she saw as a priority upon her assumption of role as DOT chief is the full opening, promotion, and development of Mindanao.
“𝘞𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘦 𝘸𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘶𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘮𝘰𝘵𝘦 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘢𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘥-𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘭-𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴, 𝘸𝘦 𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘯𝘰 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘭𝘦𝘧𝘵 𝘣𝘦𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘭𝘰𝘱𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘮 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘗𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘱𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘴, 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘪𝘴 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘸𝘩𝘺 𝘸𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘔𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘢𝘯𝘢𝘰 𝘛𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘮 𝘌𝘹𝘱𝘰–𝘵𝘰 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘷𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘰𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘳𝘦𝘨𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥, 𝘢𝘴 𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘭, 𝘵𝘰 𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘺𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘗𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘱𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘢𝘶𝘵𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘔𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘢𝘯𝘢𝘰,” the DOT chief enthused.
According to Secretary Frasco, in addition to the expo component which is participated in by the various regions across the Philippines to boost domestic tourism, business-to-business, business-to-consumer, and post-familiarization tour components also make up the three-day MTEx.
“𝘗𝘢𝘨𝘬𝘢𝘩𝘶𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘯𝘪𝘪𝘪𝘯𝘪 𝘢𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘵𝘶𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘨𝘢 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘯𝘨𝘢 𝘮𝘪𝘣𝘪𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘢 𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘩𝘪 𝘴𝘢 𝘔𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘢𝘯𝘢𝘰, 𝘥𝘢𝘥-𝘰 𝘯𝘪𝘭𝘢 𝘢𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘰𝘵 𝘬𝘢𝘢𝘺𝘰 𝘯𝘢 𝘣𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘢 𝘴𝘢 𝘪𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘨𝘢 𝘭𝘶𝘨𝘢𝘳 𝘯𝘢 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘺 𝘯𝘢 𝘢𝘯𝘨 𝘔𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘢𝘯𝘢𝘰 𝘢𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘢 𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘮𝘰,” the DOT chief said.
In line with the National Tourism Development Plan (NTDP) 2023-2028 of the Marcos administration, the DOT has prioritized the most basic components for the country’s tourism development, including infrastructure, connectivity, digitalization, enhancement of tourist experience, and stronger tourism governance between public and private tourism stakeholders.
Identified by the President as urgent, the DOT has embarked on enhancing the overall tourist experience, Secretary Frasco shared, launching Tourist Rest Areas (TRAs) across the Philippines, with two from the initial batch of TRAs constructed in Manolo Fortich, Bukidnon and Island Garden City of Samal (IGaCoS) in Davao del Norte, while constructing more in other provinces in Mindanao within the year.
In strengthening tourism governance, the DOT has launched the Tourism Champions Challenge (TCC) which seeks to incentivize tourism projects of local government units (LGUs) that are sustainable, inclusive, and resilient, including five from Mindanao.
The Department also launched its nationwide cultural tourism product development program called the Philippine Experience Program (PEP), which intends to herald all there is to love about the Philippines in all aspects of the travel and tourism experience, seeing successful runs in Davao Region last year, and Zamboanga Peninsula earlier this year, inviting tourism stakeholders, travel and tour operators, media and members of the diplomatic corps.
“𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘶𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘗𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘱𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘴. 𝘞𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘣𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘸𝘰 𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘬 𝘪𝘯 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘷𝘢𝘭𝘴, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘶𝘤𝘤𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘗𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘱𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘵𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘮 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 2023 𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘮𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘩𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘧𝘶𝘭 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘱𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘤 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘶𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘮 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘺,” Secretary Frasco concluded.
