PEOPLE around me know how passionate I am in promoting Philippine destinations and tourism as a driver of local growth.
I’ve had the distinct honor of working together with esteemed stakeholders from both the private and the public sector in a number of projects in various parts of the country, where local tourism, heritage and culture, and sustainable economic growth emerged as the heroes of the movement.
Eight years ago, we’ve had the privilege of working with the governments of Canada and the Philippines in a groundbreaking economic cooperation program, dubbed as the Local Governance Support Program for Local Economic Development (LGSP-LED). The project, implemented by the Canadian Urban Institute (CUI) and the Colleges and Institutes Canada as Canadian Executing Agency (CEA) and the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), aimed to help local government units (LGUs) govern their provinces, cities or municipalities more effectively, and develop competitive and business-friendly LGUs as strong pillars of continued economic progress.
Among the areas involved in the project were Pangasinan, Guimaras, Bohol and Zamboanga del Norte (Batch 1); Naga, Iloilo, Bohol, Leyte and Allah Valley (Batch 2); and Batangas, Northern Palawan, Albay, Northern Panay, Negros Occidental, Northern Iloilo, Negros Oriental, Siquijor, Northern Cebu and Davao del Norte (Batch 3). These destinations, covering 134 provinces, cities, or municipalities, have managed to overcome the variety of challenges they faced in the past to become competitive and business-friendly hubs for inclusive development.
Growing local economies
During the eight-year period of the project, the program was responsible for a stark increase in family income in seven out of nine provinces involved in the program’s first two phases, as well as a decrease in poverty incidence in 14 out of 22 provinces involved in all three phases (2008, 2011 and 2013).
The program also saw a surge of investment levels in project sites, which total more than P19 billion (C$520 million) in 2015—80 percent of which was driven by private investment. These new investments have, in turn, generated more than 27,000 new jobs directly in the tourism and agriculture industries.
Aside from these, there were also almost 8,000 new business registrations in identified sectors among participating LGUs. Visitor arrivals to project sites were also estimated to have grown to almost 8 million, or an average of 23 percent, surpassing the national average of 11 percent.
“Tourism has a very strong multiplier effect in terms of poverty reduction,” said LGSP-LED Field Director Francis Gentoral. “As a sector in the Philippines, tourism has a clear master plan from a national perspective. Our role was to help LGUs understand the tourism assets they have, come up with investment plans for them, and help them develop their products and marketing strategies.”
Helping local destinations rise
I still fondly remember the trips we’ve had and the warm reception we received from LGU officials and members of local communities who welcomed us when we first launched the LGSP-LED tourism marketing and branding initiatives for Iloilo-Guimaras, Allah Valley and Leyte back in 2014.
We collaborated with partners from both the public and the private sector to develop tourism circuits in all three provinces, strengthen the brand identities for each destination, and build the individual capabilities in all three areas by engaging stakeholders.
In Leyte we helped strengthen industry capabilities across all sectors (tourism, investments, pre- and post-Yolanda) by positioning the province as a destination where business and nature exist in harmony. We also reinforced the distinction of Metro Iloilo-Guimaras as the gateway to experiencing every slice of culture—heritage, food, festivities and adventure—that comprises the vibrancy of the island of Panay through the “Take a Bite of Iloilo” campaign.
Another proud initiative that we spearheaded was the Allah Valley campaign for South Cotabato. We took on the challenge of rebuilding the image of Mindanao—a land rich in culture, heritage and natural resources, which is also a land of conflict and militant struggle—by working closely with indigenous people communities, local business groups, representatives from the education, agriculture and tourism sectors to implement local economic development projects in Region 12 where Allah Valley is.
We sought to help create greater value for the indigenous T’Boli community by making tourism a key driver of growth. We believed that the element of authenticity is very important in the tourism sector, hence we made it a point that those who visit Allah Valley could see the people and places as they are rather than a contrived version of the local culture.
By crystallizing and communicating their culture and heritage, the T’Bolis opened up business opportunities across multiple industries, which include handicrafts and trinkets, food and agriculture, and tourism. The results yielded phenomenal growth for Region 12’s tourism sector, from as early as two years back. For the first quarter of 2014, there were already 518,085 tourists who have visited Region 12—a figure that represented a 184-percent jump from the total number of visits that the region logged for the entirety of 2012 (281,576 arrivals).
What I admire the most out of the LGSP-LED cooperation initiative was its intent on making tourism as the main focus of each individual program. The two governments and the implementing bodies knew that these specific provinces have the capabilities of becoming popular tourist spots and they used that to shape the LGUs.
Now, people from all over the world can finally see a side of the Philippines that has been rarely glimpsed at in the past. Even more so, indigenous groups are now better represented in their provinces, since the program has valorized their culture and local enterprises, as well.
From Zamboanga del Norte’s cassava and mango products to Bohol’s agritourism projects, we are now seeing more provinces showcasing the unique ways by which travelers can truly appreciate the country through more compelling experiences. Moving forward, anyone will soon be able to discover the rich culture and traditions of each of our regions, all while championing helping improve each of the places’ local economies.
Image credits: Photo courtesy of LGSP-LED