IBINAHAGI ni Tourism Secretary Christina Garcia-Frasco ang pinakamalakas na produkto ng Pilipinas sa programang SMNI Exclusive ni Pastor Apollo C. Quiboloy.
‘’First of all Pastor, daghan kaayong salamat gikan sa kinalagman sa akong kasingkasing sa higayon na makaistorya ka ug maka anhi sa SMNI. I am very grateful for this opportunity to talk about the positive prospects for Philippine Tourism,’’ ayon kay Sec. Frasco.
Sa panayam kay Secretary Frasco, ibinahagi nito ang maituturing na most saleable products ng bansa kung saan isa sa ibinida nito ang ‘Sun and Beach Destinations’.
Sa katunayan ani Frasco ay isa ang Pilipinas sa kinilala sa ‘World’s Travel Awards’ pagdating sa ‘The World’s Leading Beach Destination’, ‘The World’s Leading Dive Destination’ at ‘Asia’s Leading Tourist Attraction.’
‘’The strongest products that we have, have always been our sun and beach destinations, our nature base destinations, our diving, as well as our cultural offerings. In fact, bag-o lang gihatagan ta sa ‘World Travel Awards’ recognition as ‘The World’s Leading Beach Destination’, ‘The World’s Leading Dive Destination’ and ‘Asia’s Leading Tourist Attraction,’’ saad ni Sec. Frasco.
‘’And just very recently, we were nominated yet again for this very same award in Asia and naa pa gyud napuno, nominated ang Cebu as ‘Asia’s Leading Wedding Destination’ and ang Philippine Department of Tourism as Asia’s Leading Tourism Board,’’ dagdag nito.
Samantala, pagdating naman sa Tourism slogan.
‘’There was a question about the Tourism slogan of the Philippines Pastor. At present ang slogan sa Pilipinas and it has been for the past eleven years is: ‘It’s more fun in the Philippines’, and it has had its successes in the past and we’re very grateful for all the effort devoted towards that. However, especially post-pandemic countries around the world have evolved and adapted to the new trends of travel and tourism that seek for more immersive, substantial, cultural and experiential travel offerings,’’ ani Frasco.
‘’And nakita nato nga strength gyud kaayo sa atong mga silingan sa ASEAN ang ila gyung culture. Their ability to be able to harness their tourism programs on the basis of the strength of their diversity and culture,’’ paliwanag nito.
Sinabi ni Frasco na layon ng DOT na makipagsabayan sa turismo ng mga kalapit-bansa ng Pilipinas sa ASEAN sa pamamagitan ng pagpromote ng pagkain, festivals, at mga gawa ng local artisans.
Sa pamamagitan nito ani Frasco ay hindi lang ang magagandang destinasyon ng Pilipinas ang ibinibida, kundi ang iba’t ibang kultura sa bansa.
‘’And dinhi sa Pilipinas that’s what we intend to do, to herald the best of the Filipino brand, the best of the Filipino people through our food, our festivals, ang mga produkto nato sa atong mga local artisans and makers,’’saad nito.
‘’To give our country an opportunity to market itself not just as a fun destination which it is, but also as a place where you can have a substantial and immersive experience and learn about the beauty and diversity of our country kay lahi ra gyud ang kanindot sa Pilipinas ug ang kadaghan sa atong nagkalahi-lahi na mga diverse sa mga kultura sa atong nagkalain-lain na mga rehiyon,’’ ayon kay Sec. Frasco.
Sa huli, sinang-ayunan naman ito ni Pastor Apollo C. Quiboloy.
Ayon sa butihing Pastor, maganda ang punto ni Frasco pagdating sa turismo at kultura lalo na’t tila nawala na ang ‘identity’ ng Pilipinas dahil sa pananakop ng ibang bansa.
‘’Abi nimo natumbok gyud nimo ang about sa culture because sa akong napanid-an we’ve lost it somehow ang atong identity because of the colonization of our people from the Spanish time, the American time and then so forth and so on. Pero gwapo gyud na na-mention nimo ang atong kultura, kasi kung muadto kag ubang mga nasud mailhan gyud nimo Thailander na, Vietnamese, Cambodian, Korean. Kita wa ta kabalo kung Amerikano ba ta ug Espanyol ba ta,’’ ani Pastor Apollo.
‘’So it’s very important na mabalik gyud tong atong culture kay mao na ang gusto gyud na makita nato sa atong nasud na mabalik na through tourism. Ka-gwapo gyud sa imong gisulti,’’ saad ng butihing Pastor.
