THE PROVINCIAL government of Davao del Norte is positioning itself as ”the ultimate island to highland destination” in Davao Region.
Guesting in the Kapihan sa DavNor, Davao del Norte Tourism Officer Noel Daquioag was referring to the Island Garden City of Samal as a complete circuit of island destination by itself, and the Municipality of Talaingod which has been positioned as a tribal and cultural destination.
Alongside this “Ultimate Island to Highland destination” tagline, Daquioag is also drum-beating the branding of Davao del Norte, which says “DavNor Experience Adventure and More”, capitalizing on its endowments of nature destinations such as caves, mountains, rivers, and falls.
“Base makaingon gyud ta na adventurte jud ang Davao del Norte, but, dili lang man gud siya adventure daghan pa. We have also culture and traditions; we also have agri tourism. (You might have viewed Davao del Norte as mainly an adventure destination but there is more to it. We have culture and tradition, we also have agri-tourism),” he said.
On top of the Filipino brand of service innate in all Philippine destinations, Daquiaog views the sustained peace and order situation as a “bedrock” on which is built the promotion of the province as the ultimate Island to highland destination.
“The declaration of Davao Region, specifically Davao del Norte as a tourism and investment area, is a very welcome development, pero ang capital nato ana (but our capital here) is we have also been declared as insurgency free. Dako kaayo ug kalambigitan ang peace and order sa pag anhi diri sa atung mga turista (Peace and Order is really a crucial factor of having tourists come into our place),” he explained.
Davao del Norte was the first province in Davao Region to have been declared as “insurgency-free” as a result of the intensive implementation of the Presidential Executive Order 70 on ending local communist armed conflict (ELCAC) with which Provincial Governor Edwin I. Jubahib had been actively involved.
Meanwhile, Daquioag guaranteed the readiness of the province to host the visits of local and foreign tourists. He cited the 10 completed tourist destination projects developed through the P200 million funds that the provincial government distributed to each component local government at the height of the pandemic period.
While tourism got slumped due to restricted travels, the Provincial Government through the provincial tourism office planned a way forward for tourism that was fully supported by Governor Jubahib, Daquioag said.
“When pandemic started we also started to plan more, that’s why we came up with the provincial tourism development plan. [...] Ang atuang halangdon [gubernador] niingon na mas maayo siguro nga ang atung paninduton ang mga tourism sites and existing tourism sites ug atung i-develop ang emerging and potential sites,” Daquioag revealed. PIA DAVAO