Ormoc bags best tourism research award

ORMOC CITY, Philippines — This city won the Best Tourism Research at the PEARL Awards of the Association of Tourism Officers in the Philippines (ATOP) held in Paoay, Ilocos Norte last Friday.

Ormoc Mayor Richard Gomez said the award is proof that one of his priority programs is doing well.

“It is very important for us to... know and understand our cultural heritage and history and that way we can truly offer authentic tourism programs for Ormocanons and our visitors. The award is a testament of the hard work we put into it. From here on we can move forward by leaps and bounds,” Gomez said.

Jame Monren Mercado of the UST Graduate School-Center for Conservation of Cultural Property and Environment in the Tropics, collaborated with the Ormoc City government and the Ormoc Festival and Cultural Foundation for the research.

It was titled “OGMOK: Developing a Sustainable Tourism Development Plan Using the Stakeholder’s Perspective Approach-The Case of Ormoc City, Leyte, Philippines.”

“A tourism development plan is a great thing for the city but to be acknowledged by ATOP as the best is a happy bonus,” tourism officer Nelson Alindogan said.

“The real winners here are the people of Ormoc who will benefit from the research and tourism development plan,” Alindogan said.

Meanwhile, Palompon town was grand winner of the Best Tourism Event-Adventure sport category for the third time. It also received a Hall of Fame trophy.

It is the second PEARL-ATOP Hall of Fame award for Palompon, which was consistently named Most Tourism-Friendly Municipality.