Sunday, September 09, 2007 Destination Mindanao By Jinggoy Salvador Conversation
"THANK you for constantly promoting us in your shows. I hope you can put in some good words about Davao to your viewers."
"Oh, we always do. In fact we tell everyone even our friends that Davao is a beautiful place. There is so much to see and do here in your place and Mindanao."
"It is sad that even our fellow Filipinos shy away from visiting our wonderful cities here in Mindanao. The ignorance on the island's geography always put us in a bad light."
"Is it ignorance or is it fear? It's the news about whatever conflict that hinders them."
"Well it's ignorance that brings about fear.?
Agree or disagree.
For so long, there is always a constant struggle between rebels and the military within Mindanao. Troops are sent here, the Americans keeps on dipping its fingers in it, if not fanning the flame. It is clear that they want their bases in this spot. So why not make it worse than what it looks like?
In turn, tourism in Mindanao is on an up and down swing. Everyone works unceasingly to get that arrow up the charts and then boom! Somewhere out there some unfortunate plan takes place (who masterminds it?) and we see that arrow drop in the abyss. It is always at our expense. Then we start picking up the pieces again.
The wonderful thing about us is we never give up. We know what we have and we know what we can offer the world. Call it the unsung destinations of the Philippines. Beaches to comb, oceanfloors to explore, the highest peak to scale, cliffs to rapel, whitewaters to raft, trails to trek, fruits to pick and cuisine to savor. Take your pick, there's a million things to do here in the South.
Another venue promoting Davao and Mindanao from island to highlands to the rest of the world is the Mindanao Travel & Tours Expo. This year's objective is to push Davao City as the gateway to Mindanao and the BIMP East Asean Growth Area (Eaga).
It is an impressive gathering of participants from Eco destinations, sports, wellness and spa, culinary retail and well-appointed accommodations. It is the total packaging that any tourist can expect and need when traveling. This is going beyond tour guiding and booking. MTTE showcased the whole service concept that all visitors may require.
Gracing this year's opening is Tourism Secretary Ace Durano bearing great news of support and promotion for Mindanao. With great interest in pushing the eco-tourism of Mindanao, he granted a 5 million peso donation to the Philippine Eagle Foundation.
One step at a time. Soon enough we will be enjoying the fruits of everyone’s labor on enhancing the tourism trade of this island. Of course, educating the soon-to-be-visitors would be a plus factor. There may be isolated incidents but for sure, that's a bit of a distance from where the must-see, must-visit spots.
