Frasco to push for shared tourism governance

MANILA, Philippines — Incoming tourism secretary Christina Frasco yesterday vowed to push for “shared tourism governance” under her term as she ensures equal access to opportunities and resources for progress among tourism sites in the country.

Frasco yesterday met with Department of Tourism officials at the DOT office in Makati City.

She stressed that the best way to move forward from the challenges faced by the tourism industry during the pandemic is through collaboration.

“In Cebu, we have seen how important it is to share governance not only with the public sector, but also with the private sector. And it is this shared tourism governance which I believe can help the Department of Tourism perform in a manner that is inclusive,” she said.

She said she would expand the DOT’s services not only to local governments, but also to individuals while products with potential would have national and global marketability.

“Through this type of governance, we could provide opportunities for branding, promotion and development not only to a select few, but to all of our sites across our beautiful country that have the potential for development,” Frasco said.

She also underscored the importance of establishing the marketability of well-known tourism sites as well as those “that have not yet had equal opportunity for promotion and product development.”

“I think it is very important to have a multi-dimensional approach to tourism in that we not only focus on our natural resources but also on the development and promotion of our people and our products,” she told reporters.

“I believe that national and local government cooperation is imperative for our tourism plans and programs to succeed. We all know that if we uplift the economic status of one local government unit and translate that to over 1,400 municipalities, 81 provinces, hundreds of cities across the country, we will be able to uplift each of their economies and the economy of our nation as a whole,” Frasco said.