THE City Government of San Fernando is taking further steps in crafting a new Community-Based Tourism Development Plan (CBTDP), which will be in effect over the next six years, starting mid-2022.
A consultation with tourism stakeholders, composed of teachers, librarians, media personalities, government employees, architects, and officials from malls, resorts, and hotels, was held anew on October 29, 2021 to expedite the crafting phase.
The new plan will amend the existing 2017 version of CBTDP, which is still in effect until early next year, and will be aligned with the “response and recovery” theme, as part of the preparation for the new normal amidst the Covid-19 pandemic.
Three speakers – City Tourism Officer Ching Pangilinan, Environmental Planner Bernadette David, and Department of Tourism’s Allen Gonzales – spearheaded the discussion that solicited recommendations to be included in the plan.
Prior to this, programs under the plan, ranging from the Giant Lantern Festival down to Sports Tourism Program, were all initially reviewed and were given recommendations from the stakeholders on how to improve them during the early months of 2020.
These initial recommendations were to be consolidated along with this year’s consultation, as also guided by the national government’s plan on tourism development which was recently reformulated in light of the pandemic and new normal.
“After this consultation, we will consolidate all the inputs [from the stakeholders]. Ipe-present natin sa mga concerned officials, departments, and the council [CSFP Arts, Culture, and Tourism Council] ang updated plan natin but still, we will continue to implement the existing plan,” explained Pangilinan.
The stakeholders’ recommendations deal with the financial and partnership aspects as some of them saw the need for bigger allotment for the industry and the maintenance of a strong link with the private sector partners.
The strengthening of tourism education and promotion through blended platforms was also highlighted.
Others pointed out the importance of environmental conservation while strengthening the tourism sector by building and restoring more sustainable tourism and heritage infrastructure projects.
Mayor Edwin “EdSa” Santiago, for his part, said that apart from the regular tourism and heritage-related programs, pandemic-resilient and breakthrough initiatives were delivered by the City even while it was still amending the existing plan.
“Ang pagpa-plano, isang matagal na proseso ‘yan. Kailangan ng pag-aaral, konsultasyon, hindi lang sa isa kundi sa maraming grupo at indibidwal. Kaya naman, sa gitna nito, hindi natin itinigil ang mga programa, at dinagdagan pa natin ito sa pamamagitan ng innovations natin,” he said.
Included in the initiatives delivered by the City Tourism Office were the virtual tourism tours, online lecture series, and digital commemoration of events and observations, including the Tourism Star Awards and Giant Lantern Festival. (PR)