|
A master plan for eco-tourism in Zamboanga City is being proposed that would exploit to the fullest its tourism potentials which will be centered not only on its historical and cultural heritage but to market the city as a haven for sports and adventure tourists and enthusiasts. The current tourism development strategy is focused only on selling the historical sites and cultural uniqueness of the city which can capture a very limited segment of the tourist market, according to Atty. Mel Sadain. Sadain, an aspirant for councilor of District 1, said the city needs to overhaul its marketing strategy in order to boost its tourism. He said the age bracket of tourists that could be enticed to come to Zamboanga City belongs to the older generation aging 50s and above while the young professionals aging 20s and above would look in a tourist destination for something other than historical sites. “The city should be repackaged into a haven for sports and adventure enthusiasts and not only as a tourist destination for old Spanish relics,” he said. The new tourism master plan calls for the development of other strategic advantages present in the city. It will specifically call for the development of naturally endowed sites like caves, falls, beaches and other possible tourist sites and convert them into tourist attractions making the city as the center of sports and eco-adventure activities for local and foreign tourists alike in the Southern Philippines. He said the city abounds with Boracay-like beaches apart from the caves, falls and a climate perfect for jet ski and other sea and water sports and adventure thrills that would serve as come-ons to lure younger tourists. “Why concentrate only on a small segment of tourist market when we can tap the resources available in the city to attract younger tourists who loved sports and ecology-adventure thrills?” he asked. By developing and repackaging these resources, he said, the city could attract a larger tourist market. European cities already offer historical sites as tourist attractions, the Philippines, including Zamboanga City should offer something different. One of the competitive advantages of the city is that it can offer sports and adventure-based tourism attractions at a lower price, he said. He said development of tourism facilities for sports and adventure would not entail huge outlay considering that construction of grandiose buildings is not needed. What is more required is to make these naturally-endowed sites accessible and safe for tourists. If peace and order situation can be considered as the biggest stumbling block to tourism, he said, the most significant factor to crime and insurgency-related problems is the lack of employment opportunities whereby people can engage in productive activities. By developing the tourism industry the local government would be generating employment and entrepreneurial opportunities to the local economy thus it should be a priority concern of the local government, the private sector and the residents, Sadain said. “Manyudahan kita (let us help one another) as a community to make a big push for the realization of concrete development initiatives. We have to start somewhere and the time is now,” he stressed. He said if elected he would sponsor ordinance that would formulate a master plan for eco-tourism to boost the tourism industry in the city. The ordinance would include incentive package making tourism sector as a priority investment area where foreign and local businessmen could be encouraged to invest in.
 |
The News 
Subscribe to this comment's feed
