THE Tourism Educators and Movers (Team) Philippines pushed for stronger awareness on sustainable tourism in Negros Occidental and other provinces in the country.
Team Philippines executive director Xander Kim Sigua, who spoke at the tourism awareness conference at L’ Fisher Hotel in Bacolod City Tuesday, February 20, said there is a need to further educate the people about tourism.
Sigua noted that unlike other countries like Thailand and Singapore, most Filipinos have limited knowledge and understanding especially on the technicalities and other important aspects of tourism.
“Increasing tourism awareness, particularly sustainable development of the industry is one of our advocacies. We really want people to be oriented about tourism," he added.
The organization's counterpart in Western Visayas initiated Tuesday's tourism awareness conference attended by at least 1,200 stakeholders from the fields of business and tourism.
Other participants included representatives from hospitality and restaurant management, technology, education, humanities and arts sectors, local government units (LGUs), and private sector.
Dubbed “#7NEWJUANDERS2018: The Seven New and Enterprising Ways of Growing Philippine Tourism Awareness and Local Economies 2018,” the one-day activity aimed at showcasing innovative and competitive ways on how to diversify, build, and sustain local industry economies across the regions in the Philippines.
Sigua said the conference is important because it serves as a venue to update all the students, practitioners, and educators about tourism.
This is at the same time gathering them and other stakeholders so that they can be united in the bid to trigger tourism development, he said.
“What we want to happen is to make Filipinos become tourism-oriented persons so they can help the government develop the industry,” Sigua added.
The new and enterprising ways, meanwhile, presented by seven outstanding “Juanders” during the conference were hoped to boost community-based tourism in the country.
Sigua said the speakers have shared to the participants the activities and advocacies that they do in helping the community.
Community-based tourism is a kind of tourism that benefits the community by creating jobs and providing income opportunities to the locales, he said.
Team Philippines-Western Visayas initiated the conference with The Dream Project PH in partnership with the Northern Negros State College of Science and Technology, Negros Occidental Tourism Division, 034 Creatives, and Association of Tourism Officers of Negros Occidental.
“Our challenge to future tourism practitioners is to put tourism in their hearts so that they will be advocates as well,” Sigua said, adding that “as advocates, they should really have the passion to help the industry.”