THE Department of Tourism (DOT) gathered local government units from Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao to hand out financial endowments to the winning tourism infrastructure proposals for its flagship project Tourism Champions Challenge (TCC).
“Today marks a pivotal moment in our journey towards tourism transformation, as envisioned by our President who believes that the Philippines can truly be transformed into a tourism powerhouse in Asia,” said Tourism Secretary Christina Garcia Frasco in her opening remarks during the TCC awarding ceremony held at the Philippine International Convention Center (PICC) on Monday (Apr. 15).
“Pursuant to our President’s vision for our nation, the Tourism Champions Challenge was launched and designed to unleash the potential of cities and municipalities across the Philippines, by inviting them to propose innovative tourism infrastructure projects that aim to foster sustainability, inclusivity, and resilience in tourism development, enhancing our local destinations and communities and most importantly, providing added economic opportunity for our communities nationwide,” the Secretary added.
Launched on April 5, 2023, the DOT earmarked a cumulative amount of PHP180 million for the TCC, which was conceptualized in collaboration with the Department’s infrastructure arm, Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority (TIEZA).
“The TCC has sought to empower local government units to conceptualize and develop projects that will create new tourism opportunities, create accessibility, and showcase our unique Filipino heritage. The challenge was structured meticulously through five phases: beginning with a call for proposals, culminating in a project implementation, and inauguration. The rigorous selection process, upheld by standards of integrity and impartiality involves multiple stages of evaluation, from capacity building, through the expert advice of our panel from across the cross section of the tourism industry, to proposal assessment. This process ensured that the most promising and impactful tourism initiatives were selected for immediate implementation,” Secretary Frasco explained.
The TCC Committee is chaired by Secretary Frasco, with Undersecretary Shahlimar Hofer Tamano and TIEZA Chief Operating Officer (COO) Mark Lapid as vice chairs, and other DOT officials as members. Invited judges for the TCC Committee also included Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Benjamin Abalos, Jr. represented by Assistant Secretary Lilian De Leon, Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Secretary Maria Antonia Yulo-Loyzaga represented by Regional Director Ma. Victoria Abrera, and Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s Vice President for Trade Mission and director of the Environment and Climate Change, Infrastructure, and Construction committee Arch. Felino Palafox, Jr., with PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) as knowledge partner.
The TCC advisers were former DOT Undersecretary and now Philippine Hotel Owners Association, Inc. (PHOA) Executive Director Benito Bengzo, Jr., former Tourism Undersecretaries Daniel Corpuz and Rolando Canizal, Associate Professor Dr. Ramon Benedicto Alampay of the Asian Institute of Tourism, and Dr. Maria Cherry Lyn Rodolfo of the Asian Institute of Management.
The DOT received a total of 98 proposals across 90 LGUs in the country.
“As we gather to recognize and honor and award our top 15 local government units, we are not just awarding projects, but celebrating the spirit of innovation, collaboration, and community that drives our tourism sector forward. Let us continue to support and inspire each other as we work together towards making the Philippines a tourism powerhouse, and most importantly, a beacon for sustainable and inclusive tourism development. Thank you, Mr. President, for your visionary leadership,” the Secretary concluded.
