The Department of Tourism is pushing to make Tawi-Tawi, as well as Sulu and Basilan, premier tourist destinations in the country.
In an interview, Tourism Secretary Cristina Garcia Frasco said Tawi-Tawi needs further improvement with regards to connectivity and infrastructure, despite having resorts and pristine beaches.
"The opportunity that the Department of Tourism sees is to increase connectivity to Tawi-Tawi through negotiations with the aviation sector, improve infrastructure through our convergence with the Department of Public Works and Highways, and uplift the quality of tourism products in the areas that are already present including their festivals, their beaches and resorts, and even their forest reserve," she said.
Despite being treated as the most off-the-beaten-path destination in the country, Tawi-Tawi, which is located in the southernmost portion of Mindanao, is home to a diverse and colorful culture that has flourished and has been preserved for hundreds of years.
Frasco said the DoT also wants to collaborate with travel and tour companies and craft out travel packages that would increase the commercial viability of travel to Tawi-Tawi.
"The same efforts will be replicated all over the Philippines, including Basilan and Sulu, and we are very much willing to collaborate and support officials of BARMM (Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao), as far as the implementation of tourism programs is concerned," Frasco said.
Equipping tour guides
To attain that goal, Frasco said the DoT will continue honing the innate talents of tour guides in Tawi-Tawi, Basilan, and Sulu, as well as those in the rest of the Mindanao region.
"Tour guides play an essential role in the success of Philippine tourism that is why since the beginning of the Marcos administration, we have made efforts to reach tour guides. We want to equip them and capacitate them so that they can continue to tell the Filipino story with love and with certain standards and qualities that are unforgettable to tourists," Frasco said.
"To equip them, their training is continuous under the Industry Manpower Development of the DoT, as well to provide them with tour guide kits that include electronic lapels, hats, sunglasses, tumblers, and journals that will give them pride to continue being tour guides," she added.
Further, she said they are now in coordination with various embassies to expand language training for tour guides to at least communicate and understand the basic languages of foreign tourists.
National Tourism Development Plan 2023-2028
She said these initiatives are part of the National Tourism Development Plan 2023 to 2028, with the primary objective to equalize tourism development and to create more opportunities for emerging and lesser-known destinations.
"In line with this objective, the DoT, Department of National Defense and Department of the Interior and Local Government have entered into a memorandum of agreement to promote Mindanao as a peaceful and attractive tourist destination," the DoT chief said.
"Moreover, the DoT has also launched its flagship program called the "Philippine Experience Program: Culture, Heritage, and Arts Caravan" designed to offer visitors a multi-dimensional tourism experience, which it piloted in the Davao Region and will be followed by more regional launches in the months to come," Frasco added.
Moreover, Frasco noted that under the leadership of the Marcos administration, the DoT is also actively working with stakeholders toward the lifting of negative travel advisories imposed against specific areas in Mindanao, by further enhancing accessibility and safety for tourists.