BAGUIO CITY – Mauricio G. Domogan commended the management of the Baguio Country Club (BCC) and the Hotel and Restaurant Association of Baguio (HRAB) for going out of their way to bid with the organizers of the prestigious Miss Universe pageant to bring some of the candidates to the city even for a short period of time to provide more international exposure for the city.
The local chief executive underscored the importance of partnering with the private sector in pursuing the realization of noble projects that will boost the local tourism industry in line with this year’s 107th Baguio Charter Day anniversary theme of “Fostering a Meaningful Change through Synergy and Cooperation.”
“We thank the private sector because they have the sufficient resources to help bring to our city some of the Miss Universe delegates. Let us not talk so much about our accomplishments and achievements because the people are aware on what have we done in helping enhance our local tourism industry. No one intends to grab the credit from whoever is responsible for lobbying with the organizers to help bring the beauty contestants to our city even in a short period of time,” Domogan stressed.
While it is true that it will be difficult on the part of the local government to immediately appropriate government funds for such purpose, Domogan explained there could have been coordination with the city so that complimentary efforts could have been pursued for the primordial purpose of giving added international exposure to the city to boost the growth of the local tourism industry.
According to him, all the individuals and groups responsible for putting Baguio in the Miss Universe contestants itinerary deserve a pat on the back and the appropriate commendations because it speaks well of the vibrant partnership between the government and the private sector in the successful conduct of events that is geared towards aggressively promoting the city in the international scene.
He added that the matter of the inclusion of Baguio in contestants’ itinerary was initially brought to his attention by Tourism Undersecretary Kat de Castro during her recent visit to the city but the local organizers never informed him about the preparations that were already underway for such visit so that the city officials could have contributed their five-centavos’ worth of suggestions if it would merit their attention.
Domogan emphasized there is nothing wrong in conceptualizing and implementing year-round activities to help draw more foreign and domestic visitors to the city but it is important to have a close coordination and teamwork among the involved stakeholders to avoid issues on credit grabbing.
He claimed what is important is that everyone is doing his or her part to contribute in the continuous and aggressive promotion of the city as a must-see destination for foreign and domestic tourists to help sustain the city’s robust economic growth.
By Dexter A. See