TUBA, Benguet – The town’s agriculture, culture and tourism growth potentials were recently highlighted during the conduct of the 9th edition of the Ava festival that opened opportunities of the municipality being a must see destination instead of being a mere passageway to Baguio City.
The first day of the festival was filled with countless messages from different speakers tackling the municipality’s wealth of tourist destinations, emphasizing the need to further develop and promote them as key attractions.
Jovita Ganongan, regional director of the Cordillera office of the Department of Tourism (DOT-CAR), who was the guest of honor and speaker during the main program, underscored the Tuba’ natural beauty and wealth that will make it one of the preferred tourist destinations that would surely spur economic growth in the municipality in the years to come.
“Tuba has much more to offer,” she said, citing its caves, waterfalls, hot springs, hiking trails, mountain biking trails, and many more. “With all these, Tuba has everything to become a must-visit destination,” she added.
Apart from its tourist attractions, the DOT-CAR regional director also said that they wanted to show the culture of Benguet as they highlighted that it’s never a complete experience when other important features of a community destination are missing.
Furthermore, she also cited Tuba’s opportunities regarding farm tourism, infrastructure, and transportation development, which is vital for Tuba to fully capitalize on its tourism assets. Ganongan suggested considering non-traditional transport options, including a cable system connecting tourist spots stating that, “This could be a game-changer for Tuba’s economy.” This, combined with well-trained local guides, would enhance the tourist experience and improve the overall tourism framework.
She also emphasizes the need for cohesive marketing, utilizing digital platforms and social media to reach potential visitors. A dedicated tourism office and website are proposed as essential for promoting Tuba’s unique offerings with more popular destinations like Baguio.
But for this to happen, Ganongan stressed the importance of cooperation within the BLISTT tourism circuit, which includes Baguio, La Trinidad, Itogon, Sablan, Tuba, and Tublay. “Even if you have the best tourism asset, you cannot stand alone. It has to be part of a circuit, so it has to be completed by enhancing Tuba’s tourism offering. We can harness its potential as a significant pillar in the broader BLISTT Tourism circuit. By linking Tuba’s unique offerings to the BLISTT Tourism concept, we can create a seamless experience for tourists,” she said.
On the other hand, board member Juan Nazaro, chairman of the provincial board committee on tourism, reiterated that tourists often pass by the Kennon and Marcos Highway without knowing about Tuba’s natural resources. He emphasized that the Ava Festival promotes food security, as ava is part of Tuba’s culture typically grown near homes and eaten with coffee or offered as a snack during wakes.
For his part, Mario Baucas, who represented Governor Melchor Diclas, said three things for the community to take note of the such as appreciative of God’s gifts of the rich resources like the hydro plants, agriculture, industry, and of course the beautiful people of Tuba and the diverse culture they have as one community. The second is being visionary, which means imagining and innovating to bring out Tuba’s potential. Third is the assertiveness in continuing our programs, sustaining them, and adding innovations.
The festivals also kicked off with the cutting of the ribbon to open the mini-agri fair, where Tubanians sell ava variants, vegetables, and other products. This was followed by Ava Medley, where people had a free taste of five different ava-based products, namely ava pie, ava chips, ava shawarma, ava cake, and ava empanada. By Angeline Kafuyao and Joan Dalacan
