‘Tawi-Tawi ready for tourism’

MANILA, Philippines — The archipelagic province of Tawi-Tawi in Mindanao is ready for tourism, Tourism Secretary Christina Garcia-Frasco has declared.

“I found myself in the southernmost province of the Philippines, the beautiful province of Tawi-Tawi, where I am very pleased to inform you that they are ready for tourism. They are ready to be included in the tourism map of the Philippines,” Frasco said yesterday during the department’s first Tourism Pride Summit.

Tawi-Tawi’s readiness to welcome tourists, Frasco said, was a product of collaboration with the Department of National Defense and Department of the Interior and Local Government.

The partnership would ensure that peace and order in Mindanao is preserved and tourism development is strategic, she added.

On Sept. 25, Frasco attended the 50th Kamahardikaan sin Tawi-Tawi that featured street dances and a parade of decorated boats.

Assuring Tawi-Tawi local government officials and residents, she said the province was “not far from the heart and mind” of President Marcos who “envisions tourism that is transformative where opportunities are abundant and livelihoods thrive because the government reaches out its hand of collaboration to the farthest reaches of our country so that no destination is left behind in the development of the tourism industry.”

Aside from beaches, sand bars, island-hopping and other nature activities, the province is known to be the birthplace of Islam in the Philippines.