ASEAN Tourism delegates visit Negros Oriental, Siquijor

DUMAGUETE CITY, Philippines – Delegates of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) Tourism Forum visited Negros Oriental and Siquijor over the weekend as part of the promotion of these areas in the tourism sector.

The ASEAN Tourism Forum (ATF) is an annual gathering of member-countries of the ASEAN to discuss innovations, trends and developments in the tourism industry and to facilitate joint policy formulations to accelerate the growth of the region’s tourism, said Maritoni Mascardo of the Provincial Tourism Office.

Delegates in this year’s 2016 ATF Post Tour in Negros Oriental include country delegates from the United States of America, Singapore, Thailand, Hungary, Pakistan, Australia, Denmark, China and Turkey, among others.

They were accompanied by 16 foreign travel agents and five from the Philippine Tourism Promotions Board.

The group arrived at the Dumaguete airport Saturday morning and were met by officials of the Provincial Tourism Office and the Provincial Tourism Council. They later had breakfast at a local restaurant before proceeding to the nearby island-province of Siquijor.

The ATF team stayed overnight in Siquijor before spending Sunday at the internationally famed dive destination of Apo Island, Negros Oriental, where they went “swimming with the turtles.” On Monday, the ATF team departed for Sumilon Island in Cebu province.

The visit of the ATF in Negros Oriental was expected to a accelerate promotion of intra-ASEAN travel and accelerate further growth of Negros Oriental’s tourist arrivals in 2016, said Mascardo. (FREEMAN)