Friday, June 5, 2009 | MANILA, PHILIPPINES [ BusinessWorld Online ]
ILOILO CITY — A program funded by the Canadian government aims to spur "agricultural tourism" on Guimaras Island.
Guimaras Gov. Felipe Hilan Nava said the provincial government has identified agricultural tourism as the most appropriate and marketable concept to develop the tourism industry of the island.
Mr. Nava said they noticed that most tourists visit Guimaras for a farm experience, aside from buying agricultural and food products.
"Agri-tourism may include visits to coastal and fruit farms, pick your own fruits on roadside stands and orchards, farm bed and breakfast, agricultural festivals and fairs and even food processing facilities. Visitors will not just buy and eat our mangoes, they will also learn about our agriculture sector," Mr. Nava said.
"Consequently, farms interested to sell to tourists need to be aware of their services and products," he stressed.
The Canadian-funded Local Governance Support Program for Local Economic Development (LGSP-LED) will help Guimaras maintain an environment that allows its agri-tourism industry to grow.
The program is funded by the Canadian International Development Agency and implemented by Canadian Executing Agency, in partnership with the Department of Interior and Local Government.
"We aim to help local government units put their resources in sectors where they are assured of sustainable growth. The intention is to build the capacity of LGUs to develop innovative local economic development methods that can produce important job creation and economic results for women and men, and improve the governance environment to support economic development," said LGSP associate field officer Francis Gentoral.
Mr. Nava said that "In some cases, the revenues generated from paid tours around the farm such as bed and breakfast and other services, may equal or even exceed financial gains from the produce."
"Though this may be the result, it is important to remember that the agricultural component should be maintained, as this is the very attraction of agricultural tourists," Mr. Nava stressed.
Mr. Gentoral said the concept consists of a tourism service center, the main points of attraction, and transport system that is either uni-modal (single form of transport) or multi-modal (by land, sea and/or air).
"From an experiential point of view, this will enable tourists to visit different farms and experience equally different tourism activities," Mr. Gentoral said. — Francis Allan L. Angelo
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