City Gov’t conducts Tourism Forum in Palawan

• Source: http://palawan-news.com/city-govt-conducts-tourism-forum-palawan/
• Sunday, October 2, 2016

By Alliae Alexie Garcia

As part of the celebration for the 9th Tandikan Festival, the City Government conducted a program entitled “Tourism Forum 2016” with the theme “Tourism for all, promoting universal accessibility” at the City Coliseum on Friday, September 30.

The event was a whole-day forum divided into two plenary sessions, the first one focusing on ‘current tourism development initiatives’, while the second one discussed ‘infrastructure support’.

The guest speakers for the first session were from the City Tourism Office (CTO), Provincial Tourism Office (PTO), Puerto Princesa Underground River (PPUR) Office, DLSU J. Robredo Institute of Governance, Palawan Tourism Council (PTC) and USAID.

The second half saw speakers from the Puerto Princesa International Airport, Traffic and Transport Management, PPC Water District and Palawan Electric Cooperative (PALECO), the body led by City Mayor Lucilo Bayron who also graced the said event.

The event primarily highlighted the updates within the tourism industry of Palawan as a whole. Puerto Princesa’s position as a gateway to the province was also particularly discussed, especially its role in generating economic growth and tourism.

“Ang pagiging gateway ng Puerto Princesa is a very big advantage,” Prof. Eddie Nuque, Sr., Fellow on Tourism and Governance, said as he highlighted the strategies that will benefit the tourism industry of the City. City Mayor Lucilo Bayron expressed agreement with Nuque’s statement, saying, “we should take advantage of it.”

“Sayangin mo na ang panahon, ‘wag lang ang pagkakataon,”said City Mayor Lucilo Bayron in appraising the opportunities within the tourism industry. He also added that tourism is the future of the City in advancing the local economy.

Aside from that, the event also covered the City Government’s proposed additional tourism destinations that will help the City in its future growth and development.

“Let’s work together as a team. By working together as a team, we can transform PPC,” Bayron said.

In the second half, the forum underscored issues and current plans concerning infrastructure projects in the city. This included the on-going plan for the “Puerto Princesa International Airport” which will be launched on March 16, 2017. Updates were also given by the PPC Water District and the Palawan Electric Cooperative (PALECO).

After the plenary sessions, the City Gov’t answered queries from the participants regarding the discussions. City officials also sought the people’s participation in the upcoming events which include the 2nd MIMAROPA Festival, Mr and Ms MIMAROPA 2016, a street dancing competition and the popular ‘PPUR Day’. Aside from this, the public is also especially encouraged to witness the Dragon Boat Race Asian Championships to be held on November 10-13.