Baguio City – Ninety one tourism officers and professionals representing 41 local governments and tourism organizations actively participated in the Philippine Ecotourism 101 which was held in the city last week.
Philippine Ecotourism 101is a 2-day seminar geared towards equipping the participants with the requirements of improving community-based tourism destinations in the country.
Tourism officers and professionals were taught ecotourism concepts, tools and methodologies as well as network with peers in the industry.
The seminar covered topics necessary for developing ecotourism products such as site selection, product development, enterprise development, business model for community-based sustainable projects, and destination management. Case studies of Taal Volcano, Batanes and Sagay City, Negros Occidental were also shown by the speakers, Louie and Chen Mencias, and resource person and tourism officer of Sagay City, Helen Cutillar.
Louie and Chen Mencias, both tourism planners and consultants from Bluewater Consultancy, are experts on community-based ecotourism and have extensive experience in helping LGUs and communities develop sustainable ecotourism products.
“There is a need for a shift in the way we develop tourism destinations in the Philippines. We cannot simply let it happen because it can be very destructive to both the culture and the environment. LGUs should invest in the planning process to ensure that tourism industries are sustained over many years,” Chen Mencias said.
Philippine Ecotourism 101 was organized by Sui Generis Events in cooperation with Ecotourism Philippines and Bluewater Consultancy. It was supported by the Department of Tourism – Cordillera Administrative Region, and partners in sustainable tourism, Aquamundo, Conquer and EPIC Philippines.
For additional information about the event, please visit http://www.suievents.com/philippine-ecotourism-101
By Patricia Mencias
