By Franklin P. Gumapon
DIPOLOG CITY – Five media men from this city have recently visited Davao City on a
three-day “familiarization tour” jointly sponsored by the Department of Tourism
(DOT)-9 and the Cebu Pacific Airline Company in coordination with DOT-11.
DOT-9 Regional Director
Mary June Bugante said the media familiarization tour was designed to drum up
awareness on the different tourist destinations from Dipolog City to Davao City
and the neighboring provinces.
On the first day, the
group was toured around the city where the biggest China town in the whole
world is located. Passing through the old streets named after the country’s
national heroes and leaders, the media men were brought to Davao City 911, a
highly computerized and fully integrated emergency and rescue dispatch system.
Davao City 911
emergency response system is said to be the first of its kind in the country
and in Asia, and the third in the world after the United States and Canada.
On the second day, the
Dipolog media men were toured to Museo Dabawenyo, Malagos Garden Resort,
Philippine Eagle Park, Eden Nature Park and Resort and Crocodile Farm. Then, on
the last day, they were brought to Pearl Farm Beach Resort and to the
14-hectare marine reserve where the giant clams are being grown, all at the
Island Garden City of Samal in Davao del Norte.
In a related
development, DOT-11 Regional Director Art Boncato Jr. said in an interview that
a group of media men from Davao will also be having their familiarization tour
in Dipolog City either in July or August this year. “This is geared towards a
good exchange of destinations between the two cities,” he said.
He also disclosed that
DOT-11 currently embarks on three major programs, namely: eco-tourism,
developing minds and promoting connectivity and access.
Eco-tourism aims to
promote the different tourist destinations from island to island while the
second program seeks to promote Davao City as the center for conventions/conferences.
Promoting connectivity
and access program, on the other hand, refers to infrastructure and
transportation facilities that will make travel among local and foreign
tourists easier.
The media men joining
the tour were Zamboanga del Norte Press Club President Rosemarie P. Miranda,
Kapihan sa Dipolog host Editha P. Tomong, RMN-dxDR station manager Richard
Villaronte, Sunny Dimasuhid Jr. of ABS-CBN and Franklin P. Gumapon of the
Philippine Information Agency. (PIA9)