THE highland resort has received affirmation from the Asean.
In a letter addressed to Baguio Mayor Benjamin Magalong, the Department of Tourism wrote: “We are happy to inform you that the city has garnered the number of points to be one of the three Philippine winners to receive the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) Clean Tourist City Standard (ACTCS) award 2020-2022.”
“The award is given to cities that have endeavored to beautify their public areas, improved the environment and sanitation, enhanced urban spaces and promoted their man-made and natural attractions,” DOT wrote.
The indicators evaluated in the ACTCS include environmental management, cleanliness, waste management, awareness building about environmental protection and cleanliness, green spaces, health safety and urban safety and security, and tourism infrastructure and facilities.
The standard focuses on tourist cities where there is flow of visitors and where cultural, natural and man-made attractions exist, such as those in Baguio City.
ACTCS aims to provide member-nations with a tool to improve the quality of tourism in their cities, increase marketing competitiveness, improve the situation of local residents and their livelihood to alleviate poverty, and protect the environment in response to the serious negative impact of climate change and contribute to the sustainable development of Asean cities.
The standard is based on a series of indicators that evaluates how sustainable Asean cities currently are, the quality of tourism they offer, and identification of areas that can be improved, therefore, providing the member-nation cities with benchmarks to aim for and ultimately lead to greater number and satisfaction of tourists and better conditions for the citizenry of the city.
In 2019, under the term of former mayor Mauricio Domogan, a team comprised of representatives from the Office for Administration, City Tourism and Special Events Office, City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council, City Planning and Development Office, City Health Services Office, City Environment and Parks Management Office, City General Services Office, City Engineering Office, City Buildings and Architecture Office, Baguio City Police Office, Department of Tourism Cordillera, Department of Public Works and Highways–Baguio and the Hotel and Restaurant Association of Baguio held an initial meeting and mock-up self-assessment evaluation of the city’s status vis-à-vis ACTCS to determine whether the city can proceed with the filing of the desired application.