ATOK, Benguet – The municipal government will aggressively work on various initiatives to contribute in bolstering the robust growth of the town’s booming tourism industry to be able to perk up the local economy.
Mayor-elect Franklin Smith said that the local government was able to see the vital contribution of the local tourism industry in enticing visitors to consider Atok as their must-see destination outside Baguio City that is why the local government should also put in place programs that will contribute in strengthening the industry to be able to thrive and make a big difference in uplifting the economic activities and sources of livelihood of the people.
He claimed that tourism industry stakeholders are doing their part in constantly improving their respective establishments and the facilities that are located within the tourist spots that is why it is also the obligation of the government to do its part by improving the available infrastructures leading to such destinations to be able to convince visitors to consider visiting the scenic tourist spots in the different parts of the municipality.
The local chief executive hailed the various tourism industry stakeholders for constantly working to improve their respective destinations and provide visitors with wonderful experiences of their stay in the municipality so that they will also be able to help in passing the word to their relatives and friends that Atok is a worthy place to visit because of its scenic tourist destinations and cool and romantic weather that serves as a natural pull for foreign and domestic tourists to include the municipality in their lists of must see places around the country.
The mayor vowed to closely coordinate with local tourism industry stakeholders and make representations with various agencies to ensure that whatever programs and projects that will be implemented by the government will be pursuant to the needs of the industry for the same to thrive and sustain the robust growth of tourism arrivals in the municipality annually.
Earlier, Atok was simply a stopover area of travelers going to Mountain Province and the central Cordillera and vice versa before it gradually emerged as one of the preferred destinations of foreign and domestic visitors following the thriving of agri and eco-tourism areas in the different parts of the municipality.
Initially, the municipality has some twelve equally scenic tourist spots that are mostly located in barangay Paoay which is accessible by public transportation making it easy for interested visitors to travel to their desired destinations in the locality.
Atok is just an hour and a half drive from Baguio City and could be reached either by public transportation or public car depending on the preference of the visitors wanting to spend their well deserved break in the municipality.
One of the major tourist spots in the municipality is the Northern Blossom flower farm that is located right at the heart of the locality where visitors can see for them various local and foreign species of flowers that thrive well in the town’s cool climate.
Smith rallied the different tourism industry stakeholders to enhance their collaboration with concerned government agencies and the local government to make tourism as a major economic driver while complimenting the agriculture sector in terms of providing economic activities and sources of livelihood for the people in the different barangays. By Dexter A. See
