THE Department of Tourism (DOT) secretary said the department will promote and provide more opportunities to lesser-known tourist attractions in the Philippines.
DOT Secretary Christina Frasco said during the opening of the Mindanao Tourism Expo 2023 in SMX Convention Center, SM Lanang, Davao City, January 27, that the department had launched their program, The Philippine Experience, which aims to give economic opportunities and more tourism exposure for local and foreign tourists to “emerging destinations”.
“This [The Philippine Experience] opportunity [is] not only to highlight the best about your destinations... Most importantly, we give our tourists from the Philippines and all over the world a window into the soul of the Filipino,” Frasco said in her speech during the expo.
She added that the “soul of the Filipino” can be depicted through culture, festivals, food, weaver’s works, local makers’ products, and specialties, and handicrafts.
“The Philippine Experience” program, she said, offers tourists to appreciate more of the lesser-known destinations in the Philippines and what the country has to offer more through tourism.
Frasco also said that the program was based on the "Suroy-Suroy Sugbo (Wandering Cebu)”, the flagship tourism program of the Province of Cebu, where 16 DOT regional directors attended.
The Suroy-Suroy Sugbo is a tour package that brings tourists to different areas, experience festival presentations, and taste various delicacies from each stop.
“What you can expect is that we will be offering tour packages to local and international tourists that will bring them to non-traditional places in the Philippines, and give them a view of what it is that these destinations have to offer,” Frasco said.
Frasco urged everybody to help the DOT with the program as it can “rise Mindanao’s tourism potential”.
“I can clearly see that you're one with our President [Ferdinand Marcos Jr.] and our Vice President [Sara Duterte-Carpio] in this endeavor that Mindanao rises to its full potential and our fellow Filipinos here in Mindanao are given equal opportunities for prosperity,” Frasco said.
She also said that the directive of President Marcos is not just to continue to promote and develop Philippine key destinations, but also to allow the benefits of Philippine tourism to reach as far as possible.
Frasco also said that the program, along with other DOT programs, are made to ensure that the Philippines’ tourism will exceed pre-pandemic tourist numbers.
“And we have begun just that, having exceeded our tourism targets for 2022 by almost a million,” Frasco said. ICE