THE Berkman International had presented on Monday, March 13, the final draft of the P10-million tourism master plan for the development and restoration of the village of Mintal in Davao City into "Little Tokyo" before the tourism stakeholders.
Davao City Tourism Operations Office Generose Tecson said the final draft was presented for its final touches.
“Hindi ito ipapasa kung walang final say sa City Hall (This won't be passed without a final say from the City Hall), and after the presentation, they will draft the final copy, then ipre-present nila kay (it will be presented to) Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio for approval,” she said.
Tecson said that village officials, tour operators, tour guide, transport sector, and the academe were invited at the Village Hall of Mintal for the draft presentation.
The Berkman International, Inc., a professional consulting and project management firm won the bidding done by Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority.
The firm was given until March to complete the draft.
The "Little Tokyo" will feature a Japanese hospital, market, cemetery, and the monument of Ohta Kyozaburo, a businessman who established the first Japanese-owned abaca company in the Philippines.
Tecson, in an earlier report, said that the move of developing and restoring Little Tokyo and making it part of the City's Tourism circuit is seen to increase the influx of tourists here as it features a unique cultural village, bringing back the visitors to the time of pre-World War II (1919 to 1945) when Japanese settled in the city.
Davao City first experienced its boom as Little Tokyo, Tecson said.