Tourism Secretary Alberto Lim vowed to give more attention to rural tourist destinations, as local executives and tourism stakeholders around the country conveyed their support to the government’s program on community –based tourism to counter poverty in rural areas.
Addressing more than 600 governors, mayors and local tourism officers during the opening of the three-day National Conference on Planning and Developing Community -Based Rural Tourism held at the Subic Bay Exhibition and Convention Center (SBECC) recently, Lim said that with local community support, community -based rural tourism (CBRT) could be a big boost to local economies.
“We are going to build a lot of emphasis on product development in the rural areas where poverty is in the highest (levels),”Lim said. The secretary added that President Benigno Aquino III is putting tourism on top of his agenda because of the potential of the industry to help reduce poverty.
Lim said that over the years, the Department of Tourism (DoT) has granted some P55 million to about 123 rural communities to help develop and improve indigenous tourism products and facilities, as well as for trainings on tour and trek guiding, native craft making, and local food catering.
The fund was granted through the Grassroots Entrepreneurs Employment and Tourism (GREET) program, which aims to generate employment and livelihood with balanced ecology and environmental protection to promote eco-tourism sites and develop tourism at the community level.
Based on the report of the National Statistics Office, Lim said that although the tourism industry ranks number four a s foreign exchange earner, it is now number one in creating jobs. “These jobs are jobs in the rural areas, where most of our most beautiful attractions can be found,”Lim added.
The CBRT conference was organized by the Subic-based International School of Sustainable Tourism (ISST), in collaboration with the Asian Productivity Organization (APO), the Development Academy of the Philippines (DAP), and the DoT.
ISST chairperson and former tourism secretary Mina Gabor, said the conference aimed to enhance the knowledge of local tourism stakeholders on the concept of rural tourism as a strategy to create economic opportunities in the rural areas Gabor narrated that in 2007, an icon in information technology took his backpack and went to his home in South Africa and immersed himself in the community, dancing and eating with the people. On his return to America he said, “This is the way tourism should be developed to enjoy your travel in different countries.”
The man, Gabor continued, was Microsoft founder Bill Gates. “Truly, to enjoy your vacation you have to enjoy the crowd, the people, the foods and the culture of the people in the area you are visiting. That is how community –based rural tourism should be,”she advised.
Meanwhile, Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) deputy administrator for business Raul Marcelo announced that as of November 2010, the agency has approved US$1.46 million worth of investments in tourism-related facilities at the Subic Bay Freeport.
This indicates the SBMA’s f ull support to the government’s thrust to boost eco-tourism in the country in an effort to create more jobs in local communities without losing the unique culture, character, landscape and natural environment of rural areas, Marcelo also said.
He added that in 2010, foreign and local tourist arrivals in Subic have reached more than five million, exceeding the year -end total of 4.1 million in 2009. -30- SBMA Corporate Communications Group
