DOT-Davao to strengthen agritourism, ecotourism

DAVAO. Aliwagwag Falls in Cateel, Davao Oriental taken by local resident Sakina Chavoso. (Photo from DOT Davao Facebook page)
DAVAO. Aliwagwag Falls in Cateel, Davao Oriental taken by local resident Sakina Chavoso. (Photo from DOT Davao Facebook page)

THE Department of Tourism in Davao Region (DOT-Davao) will be strengthening agritourism and ecotourism to help the industry bounce back from the slump brought about by the novel coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic.

“Based on what happened, we all realized that food security is important. I am sure more farms will flourish and we can integrate the tourism side of that,” DOT-Davao Regional Director Tanya Rabat-Tan said in a virtual presser, Thursday, June 11.

She said a complete farm-to-table experience can be done to let the tourists do activities like planting and harvesting for their food during their visits.

Tan also noted that nature-based tourism destinations are the advantages of Davao Region and it is accessible from the city centers.

“We also strengthen ecotourism or nature-based tours. We have so many hidden treasures and what is good in our region is that if you are in the city, after a few minutes or a few hours you are already in nature,” she said.

She said they are already conducting training in digital marketing and virtual tours, selling, and promotions to stakeholders running dive tours, mountain trekking, hiking tours, and health and wellness tours.

Aside from that, the agency also trained tourism stakeholders on carrying capacity, site management and visitor management.

Meanwhile, the Provincial Tourism of Davao de Oro has streamlined recovery activities in the same direction.

Davao de Oro provincial tourism officer Christine Dompor said they urged tourism establishments in the province to engage in food processing on top of the services they offered.

“One of our initiatives is linking our farmers to tourism like local delicacies, food processors, online selling so that somehow, these resort owners focused on the service industry can engage in that kind of trend. It is part of the sustainability plan,” she said.

Dompor also advised tourism establishment owners to improve the quality of their services and add more products to cope up with the increasing costs of following safety protocols but lower tourist arrivals.

“This is para ang level sa pag pay mas madaghan during the stay of the customer. All business establishments, mga tag-iya sa resorts will somehow magstart na og diversify. If you think you are so focused on the service industry, naa siguro tay other means to diversify our products (this is to increase the spending of the tourists during their stay. The business establishments like resorts will start to diversify their products),” Dompor said.

Trending

No stories found.

Just in

No stories found.

Branded Content

No stories found.
SunStar Publishing Inc.
www.sunstar.com.ph