Communities urged to maximize rural tourism

To spread the wealth generated by the massive increase in the country's tourism industry benefiting the local level through revenue and job generation, tourism industry stakeholders suggest communities to 'exploit' the vast opportunities presented by the so-called rural tourism.

And providing a venue to identify community-based efforts and developments for the implementation of rural tourism, the Department of Tourism together with other decision makers and stakeholders from the tourism industry gathered in Cebu for a 3-day community-based rural tourism (CBRT) national seminar participated by about 300 delegates coming from local government units, tour operators, tourism councils and other private individuals at the Marriott Hotel last Wednesday.

Rural tourism has been well-identified as a tourism product which markets existing rural culture, sights, sounds, thrills and other natural and man-made resources found in a specific rural community.

Forms of rural tourism products include eco-adventures that can be done in an area such as white water rafting, trekking, caving, bird watching, spelunking, boating among others which directly benefits and involves the community.

With this particular effort, the entire community are pooled together to enable the initiation of tourism programs and promotions that in effect are deemed to help boost the community's revenues as well as generate employment to the locals.

Rural tourism explores, markets and 'exploits' available resources in such a way that it can create a positive growth for the holistic development of the entire community as well as its residents and its is not yet “too late” for Philippines to bank on this endeavor, said DOT undersecretary for tourism services and regional offices Oscar P. Palabyab. 

Palabyab said that CBRT undertaking is timely specially that the tourism industry is eyed as a big driver for the growth of the economy. With the competitiveness in the global playing field, new products are demanded for the industry and the promotion of rural tourism said Palabyab will be one big leap for the Philippines to capture its economic targets.

"There are some areas in the country that will never tolerate industries like mining and manufacturing so we should exploit these areas in a way to further enhance what nature has given us and tap our natural assets to the advantage of the local community,” said Palabyab.

He also pointed out that the seminar is foreseen to jumpstart the creation of programs and master plans that will highlight the necessary points to be developed in certain provinces since participants are required to submit CBRT papers that will identify existing promotions, tourism programs and recommendations within their clustered provinces.

Palabyab stressed that creation of CBRT programs will not only provide avenues to showcase the products of communities in the countryside but will also be a more distinct way of reducing poverty and empowering the local sector by giving them a fair share of the inflow of tourism activities and its social as well as economic benefits. However in terms of funding from the government, the undersecretary added that it could be easily generated but only after specific areas and key points on a town or a province's CBRT are identified.   

Topics discussed by speakers in the seminar include trend issues, challenges and opportunities for rural tourism development and the frameworks for the development, promotion, management and sustainability of CBRT, as well as CBRT models practiced by neighboring countries in Asia such as Thailand and Nepal, Africa, and Latin America.