DOT opens Tourism Champions Challenge Cycle 2
MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Tourism officially launched the second cycle of its flagship program, the Tourism Champions Challenge, a nationwide infrastructure proposal competition that incentivizes tourism development among cities and municipalities, on Thursday, July 31.
The campaign, in partnership with the Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority, supports the directive of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to empower local governments and strengthen the tourism sector through strategic infrastructure investment and grassroots development.
For the second cycle, Tourism Secretary Christina Frasco said the agency would select 21 local government units (LGUs), including provinces, cities and municipalities across Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao, to receive funding for their proposed tourism infrastructure projects.
Frasco also announced that the LGU winners are set to receive a combined amount of P399 million, from P255 million last year.
Here's a breakdown of their project funding:
- Municipalities - P15 million each
- Cities and provinces - P18 million each
They would also receive performance-based incentives of up to P6 million.
“More often than not, the vision (of local government units) is not backed by enough funds. That is why coming into the fold of the Department of Tourism, and in partnership with TIEZA, we devised this program that takes a bottoms-up approach to tourism development, and ensures that tourism and develop in the country is not only transformative, but also and importantly, inclusive, resilient and equitable,” Frasco said during the media briefing held at The Peninsula Manila on Thursday.
The DOT said interested LGUs are encouraged to submit one electronic project proposal, aligned with the TCC theme, through their respective DOT Regional Office for initial screening
and endorsement.
The proposal must feature an innovative tourism infrastructure project, with a base cost of P18 million for provinces and cities, and P15 million for municipalities. Requirements include the project proposal and its annexes, a Sanggunian resolution endorsing the proposal, and proof of government ownership of the proposed project site.
"Once shortlisted, the 21 LGUs must also submit requirements such as the Detailed Engineering Design (DED), Environmental Compliance Certificate (ECC), Operations and Maintenance (O&M) Plan, Right-of-Way (ROW), and other documents required by TIEZA," the DOT said in its call for proposal announcement.
The DOT also reminded interested parties that each LGU may submit only one proposal. LGUs that previously received financial assistance from the DOT or TIEZA must secure clearance from the concerned DOT Regional Office and TIEZA, confirming the full liquidation of earlier funds.
Meanwhile, LGUs that were previously awarded under the program will be ineligible to submit proposals for the next two TCC cycles.
The deadline for the submission of TCC proposals is set for October 15 of this year.
This will be followed by the first presentation of shortlisted proposals from October to November 2025, and the second presentation of endorsed proposals to the National TCC Committee from November to December 2025.
The announcement of the Top 21 proposals is slated for February 2026, followed by the capacity-building sessions for the selected LGUs in the first quarter. The final presentations and awarding ceremony are scheduled for the second quarter of 2026.
The first cycle of TCC was launched in early 2023 with cycle winners including Ambaguio, Nueva Vizcaya’s Ambaguio Skyport - The 1st Local Paragliding "Airport Terminal;" in the Philippines, Tubigon, Bohol’s Enchanted Ilijan Plug of Tubigon and Isabela City, Basilan’s Lampinigan SANDS (Sustainable and Natural Destination of the South): The Lampinigan Jetty Port and Leisure Development Project, among the 15 winners.
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