Japanese volunteers, Bohol hold first cultural exchange festival

MANILA, Philippines - The Bohol Tourism Office (BTO) and young Japanese volunteers under the Japan Overseas Cooperation Volunteers (JOCV) Program would hold the first cultural exchange festival in Bohol this week (26 Sept.) to boost local tourism.

Japanese volunteers dispatched by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) under its JOCV Program would hold experience-based activities for 200 tourism students, teachers, and tourism municipal officers in Bohol to expose them to Japanese culture, lifestyle, and the arts.

“Tourism is a key economic driver not only in the Philippines but also in Japan. The pilot initiative on holding a cultural exchange festival will help young people appreciate other cultures, and their own local values,” said JICA Senior Representative in the Philippines Kunihiro Nakasone.

Tourism in Bohol remains upbeat despite the calamities that hit the province. Data from the Department of Tourism Region 7 showed that an estimated 455,155 tourists visited Bohol in 2014.

In Japan, tourism is also a key agenda in Prime Minister’s Shinzo Abe’s economic policy. The Visit Japan program has so far saw multiplier effects of a robust tourism sector to transportation, hotels, and parks, nearly rivaling that of the auto industry.

The Bohol Tourism Office said that the Japanese volunteers are helping Bohol attract more tourists, and at the same time strengthen the relations between Japan and the Philippines.

The initiative was also scheduled in time for the commemoration of the 50 years of the JOCV Program. Since the 1960s, the Japanese government has dispatched thousands of young Japanese professionals around the Philippines to assist in development work.

To date, some Japanese volunteers have been helping tourism development in Bohol.

Volunteers have already been assigned to help in Bohol’s sustainable tourism activities. The volunteer activities aim to complement local tourism growth once the new ¥10.78 million Bohol airport supported by JICA is realized.

Volunteers have also been assigned to the fabrication laboratory, initiated by a former JOCV, in helping create innovative design and packaging of souvenir items for global clients.