Tourism Secretary Christina Garcia Frasco pushes for culture-centered tourism as she expressed full support for Kalinga’s development during the 31st Bodong Festival marking the province’s founding anniversary.
In her keynote address, Frasco stressed the need for “guided growth” to ensure tourism generates jobs and livelihood without compromising heritage and the environment.
“Accessibility must improve. Skills must be further strengthened, and infrastructure must support, not overwhelm, our communities. This is why the Department of Tourism fully supports our national government programs to provide connectivity and accessibility to Kalinga Province as well as to improve connectivity to heritage villages and natural sites, and strengthen the capacities of tourism workers through the Filipino Brand of Service Excellence,” she said.
As of 31 January 2026, the DoT has trained 741 tourism workers under the Filipino Brand of Service Excellence and 212 under the Tourism Industry Skills Program, which includes Tourist-Oriented Police for Community Order and Protection, community tour guiding, tourism awareness, and capacity-building seminars.
The DoT also continues to support Slow Food Pasil, with heirloom rice from the municipality now sourced by Michelin-starred chef Chele Gonzalez. Pasil is a recipient of the DoT’s Best Tourism Village award.
To improve visitor convenience, local chief executives have requested the establishment of Tourist Rest Areas in Balbalan, Rizal, Tinglayan, and Tabuk City, which has twice won the ASEAN Clean Tourist City Award.
Kalinga Governor James Edduba emphasized that development must go hand in hand with cultural preservation.
“Our traditions must not diminish. Instead, they must evolve with dignity, be preserved with pride, and be passed on with a purpose to the next generation. Progress should never mean forgetting who we are. True development happens when growth is uncovered in identity,” he said.
Rep. Caroline Agyao echoed the call for responsible tourism.
“Tourism, if done carelessly, can become a predator dressed as a gift. It can reduce our sacred rituals to scheduled performances. It can turn our elders into photographs,” she said, adding that Kalinga must tell its story “on our own terms.”
In 2025, the DoT-Cordillera Administrative Region recorded 331,447 same-day visitors to Kalinga, with 329,856 domestic tourists, underscoring the role of local travel in driving the province’s tourism sector.