PH’s urban parks
DON’T look now, but developing urban parks and public open spaces across the country is one of the government’s priorities in diversifying its tourism portfolio.
Everybody agrees that throughout the year, thousands of foreign and local tourists, including the elderly and youngsters, visit the country’s world-class national parks.
These must-see tourist destinations include the Rizal Park, Fort Santiago and Paco Park, all located in Manila, and the American-designed Burnham Park in Baguio City.
Government records show that during the first 11 months of 2022, Manila’s Rizal and Paco parks alone drew more than three million foreign and domestic tourists.
During the same period last year, only 1.5 million tourists visited the two parks.
In a speech during the first Philippine Parks Congress, Tourism Secretary Christina Garcia-Frasco expressed hope to see more parks in and outside Metropolitan Manila (MM).
Parks are important because they enable family members to spend quality time with each other, according to Secretary Frasco, daughter of Cebu Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia.
The three-day congress was attended by public and private sector stakeholders involved in developing urban parks and green spaces not only in MM but elsewhere.
Hopefully, the gathering will result to the crafting of a national framework for the development of more world-class urban parks in impoverished Philippines.
Like other well-meaning Filipinos, we cannot overemphasize the need to develop our tourist industry because it remains as one of the major pillars of the local economy.
