BAGUIO CITY – The Cordillera office of the Department of Tourism (DOT-CAR) disclosed Europeans and Israelis have continuously been the top foreign tourist arrivals in the Cordillera over the past several years because most of them want cultural immersion and they value the importance of the beauty of the well preserved and protected environment in the region.
Maria Venus Q. Tan, DOT-CAR regional director, said while Europeans remain to be the top foreign tourists arriving in the region, Israelis are catching up.
Of the Europeans who are constantly visiting the region, Tan claimed the French have topped the foreign tourist arrivals in the region through the years because they are into cultural immersion and they love the beauty of the region’s environment.
“We are elated because there has been a constant increase in the number of foreign tourist arrivals in our region over the past several years owing to the nature of Europeans who love cultural immersion activities that the Cordillera can actually offer,” Tan stressed.
The DOT-CAR official explained Europeans love to be immersed in the region’s culture before going to other places of interest in the country.
According to her, the Cordillera is in the best position to offer cultural immersion activities for the foreign visitors considering the region’s well-preserved culture, thus, the need for the indigenous peoples to sustain efforts to preserve and protect their rich culture and traditions.
Tan said the agency will continue to support efforts of local governments, concerned government agencies, and other stakeholders to preserve and protect identified heritage and historical sites around the region as potential destinations for visitors.
The tourism department is also coordinating with private sector partners for the sustained rehabilitation of abandoned rice terraces in Batad in Banaue, Ifugao as well as the repainting of the houses in the said area to provide added attraction and sceneries for foreign and local tourists visiting the said UNESCO heritage site.
Tan revealed the roofs of the houses in Batad will be painted green while the sidings will be painted with brown to enhance the attractiveness of the area.
The DOT-CAR director appealed to stakeholders to support the efforts of the tourism department to improve the scenery in their places so that local and foreign visitors will be enticed to visit them.
By HENT
