DAVAO tour guides are gearing towards establishing student-centered tour packages in a bid to promote the region’s tourism.
Non-government organization Guides Union For Inbound Destinations & Eco-Tourism - Davao Chapter (Guide-Davao) Inc. is keen to have students experience heritage walking tour tourism, according to one of their registered tour guides.
“[T]he heritage walking tour tourism para sa atong estudyante [started by Guide-Davao was made so that] at least ang mga information dili lang sa turista didto sa Davao (The heritage walking tour tourism for our students started by Guide-Davao was made so that at least the information about the city is not only exclusive for tourists coming here in Davao),” Bryan Mike Luceño, Guide-Davao accredited tour guide, said in an interview with the media at the sidelines of the Mapúa Malayan Colleges Mindanao (MCM)’s World Tourism Day celebration on September 27.
“But especially sa kadtong mga estudyante, na they’ll know the history of Davao kay dako pa kaayo og need pa mabal-an (But especially for students, so that they'll know the history of Davao because there is still a lot to know about our local history),” Luceño added.
He emphasized that the current tour guides in Davao are focusing on 11 ethnolinguistic tribes, namely Ata, Bagobo-Tagabawa, Klata, Obu-Manuvu, Matigsalug, Iranun, Kagan, Maranao, Maguindanaon, Sama and the Tausug - as the foundation of the region’s history.
He also lauded the Department of Tourism-Davao Region’s (DOT-Davao) new campaign “Diversity is Beauty”, saying this covers the different beliefs, traditions, and tribes in the city.
It can be noted that the new campaign focuses on showcasing the region's diversity and promote it as a unique destination.
Tanya Rabat-Tan, regional director of DOT-Davao, said that the campaign's goal is to tell a unified story that represents the entire region while focusing on the strengths of each province and city within Davao.
Guide-Davao also stated that tour guides would also focus on the Philippine Eagle, Mount Apo, Waling-waling, and Durian as four icons of the city in encouraging and helping tourists feel welcome in the region. ICE