DAVAO CITY -- The Mindanao Tourism Council (MTC) has strengthened its assistance and mentoring in developing a rural tourism plan through local government units.
MTC executive director Jonalier Perez said mentoring activities started years ago, but it still needs to beef up support especially from LGUs in the rural areas.
He said some of the LGUs already developed their tourism development plans at their own initiative. There are tourism development plans which MTC helped develop for areas where there are potentials.
"There are areas that we don’t recommend especially areas with unstable peace and order condition," Perez said.
MTC, he said, is pushing for potential areas like Surigao's three municipalities. Perez did not disclose the details of the project.
He said Surigao, for instance, is a beach destination but MTC wants to put some elements so that it will really stand out.
He cited Lianga town in Surigao where MTC included in its tourism heritage because of its history. Lianga is also being pushed as an eco tourism site.
Perez also mentioned Sarangani Province and South Cotabato where there are already municipalities with tourism development plans which only need fine tuning. These will serve as their guide in their tourism programs and projects, he added.
Meanwhile, Perez admitted that tourist arrivals in Mindanao decreased after the declaration of Martial Law. But Perez underscored the increase of tourist receipts.
This means that tourists stayed longer with more spending.
Perez said MTC also embarked on training the ordinary people like the habal-habal drivers to become stakeholders to spread the socio-economic benefits of the tourism industry.
He said MTC will train them as informal tour guides, that is, servicing the tourists with little English in guiding them important places and must-see destinations in their area. (Digna D. Banzon/PNA)
