REGION 4A, comprised of the provinces of Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal and Quezon—collectively known as Calabarzon—will launch in August the complete set of local “must-visit” destinations for the Philippine Experience program of the Department of Tourism (DOT), according to a top tourism officer.
In an interview during the opening day of the weeklong Anilag Festival in Santa Cruz, Laguna last Saturday, DOT Calabarzon Regional Director Marites T. Castro told the BusinessMirror that each of the regions in the country will have their own kick off of this national initiative that aims to promote the country’s rich heritage, arts and culture.
Castro said they are finalizing the list of local sites to become part of this program of the DOT to help the industry recover from the impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic and position the Philippines as a main travel destination in Asia.
“We will have to coordinate what local government units [LGU] or provinces that will be included in our launch of the Philippine Experience,” she added.
Prior to this, Castro revealed they have already identified the LGUs that have adventure, cultural and gastronomic hubs for the tourism circuits of Calabarzon.
In Laguna, for instance, she cited that the city of San Pablo and municipalities of Nagcarlan, Rizal and Liliw were included in its initial establishment at the height of the ensuing health crisis in 2020.
She added that they have developed the second phase of the tourism circuits of the region, including Biñan, Calamba, San Pedro and Santa Rosa in Laguna, in early 2022, in coordination with the LGUs, travel agencies and tourism stakeholders.
Change
ACCORDING to Castro, the DOT 4A office has forged a partnership with the National Museum to include nine buildings or institutions found in the region that care for and display a collection of artifacts and other objects of artistic, cultural, historical, or scientific importance.
For them to be included in the tourism circuits, Castro said there’s a need for evaluation and change in their ways of presentation to entice more visitors.
“We have to lobby, especially now that the Millennials do not go to museums more often, given the rise of digitalization,” she said.
“So my suggestion to them is that we have to change our delivery of the story or history in the museum. Since some find it to be boring, we have to present it more beautiful like the way comics did to make it more interesting not only among the youth. It’s better that they learn not only in the four corners of a classroom, but also get to actually experience what is being said in the book,” Castro explained.
She said local, regional and national initiatives will be of big help to achieve the DOT’s local and foreign tourist arrival targets.
Recovering
CASTRO said that based on reports submitted by tourism officers of Region 4A, overnight local tourists in Calabarzon reached 5.85 million while same-day or day-tour visitors hit 45.96 million last year.
“Our domestic travelers grew last year compared to 2020 and 2021. We all know that Calabarzon had a double-whammy when it [came] to the pandemic and the Taal Volcano eruption in 2020,” she said. “So now we are recovering. Hence, we extend the waived accreditation fee to encourage renewal among the tourism establishments.”
Castro, likewise, cited that the DOT reported that foreign visitor arrivals increased to 2.6 million in 2022, and is targeted at 4,8 million in 2023.
Bullish on meeting this goal, she said that the agency, together with the Tourism Promotions Board and other attached departments, is “all-out” in promotion and marketing to sustain such growth.
“We have programs already implemented, but our enemy is calamity,” she said, while referring to a massive oil spill brought about by the recent sinking of industrial tanker MT Princess Empress in the coast near the Mindoro island.
She is hoping that “more help will come,” like the deployment by Japan of experts to assist in clean-up efforts in the province.