BAGUIO CITY – The Baguio Flower Festival Foundation, Inc. (BFFFI) is pushing for the massive development to be introduced within the Botanical Garden to serve its purpose as a haven of assorted varieties of flowers to boost the influx of more domestic and foreign visitors to tour the place.
Anthony de Leon, co-chairman of the Panagbenga Executive Committee, said Burnham Park is the most promoted park in the city, thus, the need to develop Botanical Garden to have its own attractions worthy of being visited by tourists to add up to the must-see attractions that must be visited to provide them with alternative destinations around the city.
He added BFFFI commissioned the services of a veteran local landscaper to prepare the needed plan for the development of the Botanical Garden which will be submitted to the local government for consideration so that there will be sufficient tourism activities in the park and not simply a concrete park.
The BFFFI official wants the Botanical Garden to be likened to the various flower gardens in the different parts of the world so that visitors will be able to appreciate the assorted species of flowers that will be propagated in the area thereby providing added tourist destinations for the tourists wanting to go around the city not only during weekends but also during the conduct of major crowd drawing events.
“Botanical Garden must be fully developed to be able to serve its purpose as a scenic flower garden to attract more visitors to include the park as one of their preferred destinations in the city when spending their vacation in the city,”de Leon stressed.
He said there is a need to continuously develop the various parks in the city so that visitors will be enticed to frequent the city because of the new attractions that will be available in the parks which are one of the city’s tourism assets aside from its semi-temperate weather condition.
According to him, the preparation of the plan for the Botanical Garden by the veteran landscaper will be at the expense of the BFFFI as part of its commitment in sustaining the development of the city’s major tourist destinations and its corporate social responsibility through the resources that it was able to generate in handling the annual conduct of the Panagbenga or the Baguio flower festival.
He said the present state of the Botanical Garden is not in conformity with the international standards of a flower garden, thus, the need for the local government and the private sector to closely work together to achieve the desired status of the park so that visitors will be enticed to visit the park.
De Leon disclosed the need to move people out from the central business district area for them to be able to witness more attractions around the city like the Botanical Garden and Mines View Park to spread the growth of economic activities to the different barangays in the city hosting existing destinations.
He expressed optimism to submit the plan to the local government within the next several months after the landscaper shall have completed the desired status of the park for further needed action of concerned local officials.
By Dexter A. See
