DABAWENYO delicacies will take the spotlight in the new tourism circuit launched by the City Government of Davao.
Davao Food Crawl and Market Experience, a circuit that takes tourists to the sprawling Bankerohan Public Market, will stop at several stalls and stores selling well-loved food and delicacies.
One iconic market establishment is the 54-year-old Delmar Painitan. Opened in 1972 by the couple Alberto and Lourdes Delmar, the Painitan is known for its best-sellers, including Puto Maya (sticky rice cake) topped with mango and muscovado sugar, Biko (sweet rice cake), Sapin-Sapin (layered sticky rice cake).
It is also known for its Sikwate (chocolate drink) from Davao cacao beans, and Kinutil, a drink made from Sikwate, tuba (coconut wine), egg, and milk, which has attracted foreigners and local tourists.
“My parents started as vendors, but through hard work, the business improved. Now we have a stall, and since 1972, we have maintained the quality of our offerings. Kung unsa to before tung timpla, quality hangtod karon mao lang gihapon (how it was before, the mixture, the quality is still maintained),” current second-generation owner Lara Grace Tapiz said.
These delicacies were influenced by the taste of Alberto and Lourdes, who come from Cebu and Bohol. “Bisayan gyud siya and pag-abot diri butangan nila og Davao flavor,” Tapiz said of their food and drinks, reflecting the rich influence brought by migrants coming from different parts of the country to Davao’s cuisine.
(Basically, our delicacies and drinks have Bisayan origins, and when Alberto and Lourdes came here, they laced them with a Davao flavor)
And the Davao market experience captures those stories, bringing life to what used to be a mundane destination: a public market.
The curated tours, under the new tourism circuits, plunged into the rich flavors, culture, and unique stories that make Davao City a destination worth exploring.
“Our mission is to connect Davao City not just to Dabawenyos but to everyone who wants to visit Davao City. We are focusing on community-based tourism, targeting new circuits, new experiences,” City Tourism Operations Office OIC Willenito Tormis Jr. said during the launching of the new circuits.
Department of Tourism-Davao Regional Director Tanya Rabat Tan says the new tourism circuit offers opportunities to communities, farmers, and entrepreneurs, who stand to benefit from tourism activities.
“This ensures that the tourism industry contributes meaningfully to local livelihoods,” Tan said.
The DOT has partnered with the City Government to validate these new circuits. Aside from the market experience, the Davao Abundant Harvest (agro-tourism) and the Furosato Davao (Davao pre-war Japanese heritage) circuits were also launched on March 6.
“Expanding tourism routes supports a more sustainable approach to tourism by spreading visitor movement across multiple destinations,” Tan said.
For Tapiz, the new circuits will greatly help their business. Although before the validation and launch, there were already privately initiated, curated tours in Bankerohan, which brought in tourists and expanded their clientele.
She says people would not just pass them by, as the store is located along the main passageway inside the market, drawing regular customers as a place for afternoon or morning snacks. They now have tourists coming over to the store.
“Naka-help siya na dili nalang mi agi-anan, gina-adtuan na dyud mi. People now appreciate our products,” Tapiz said
(Our location in the market helped passersby notice the store, which has now become a go-to site in that part of the market, and people appreciate their products.)
She says they have prepared their store for the influx of tourists.
“We always maintain the quality of our products and at the same time prepare our store ready for foreigners and local visitors, maintaining cleanliness and quality food,” Tapiz said.
She added that tourists will enjoy their delicacies without shelling out much money as they maintain the prices of their products.
“Walay difference sa price, very affordable siya,” she added. (There is no difference in prices, affordable.)
As local entrepreneurs, they are grateful for the tourism activity as it has helped promote their products and stores.
“Grateful jud mi sa tourism kay nailhan mi hinay-hinay sa mga foreign and local visitors na naga-adto sa amoa,” Tapiz said.
(We are grateful to the tourism industry because we are slowly becoming known among foreign and local visitors. PIA DAVAO