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Wednesday, December 11, 2013

Do not let our negative voice be louder than our positive voice – Asec. Boncato

By Michael Vincent D. Cajulao
ZAMBOANGA CITY – Department of Tourism (DOT) Assistant Secretary Arturo P. Boncato Jr. urged all tourism stakeholders in Zamboanga Peninsula not to let negative things hurt the industry.

This was the gist of his message during the 1st Regional Tourism Summit held here yesterday, as he pushed for positive information dissemination to counter the negative information about the place.

“Do not let our negative voice be louder than our positive voice. Let our positive voice ring loudest so that when they hear something negative it will be very, very negligible,” Asec. Boncato said.

Boncato said this attitude may just be the right solution to Mindanao’s negative image among tourists.

“Let’ us focus on the things that we have that the world doesn’t know yet. It’s all about positive branding,” he asserted.

Asec. Art, as he prefers to be called, hinted that a very big opportunity for tourism boom is being presented to Mindanao and that Mindanaoans must stand together and deliver a strong message to the market.

“Our country is now on a massive recovery and rehabilitation efforts due to the natural calamities that hit Visayas. Mindanao could be one of the most beautiful destinations in the Philippines, and I can declare right now that Mindanao should be the last frontier of Philippine tourism as it is not developed yet,” the youthful official from Davao City said.

He said tourism industry is in one of the better times in the country as national economy remains resilient.

“Things are doing very well for the tourism industry. We are happy to say that tourism has contributed to our Gross Domestic Product (GDP) around 5 or 5.5 percent of our GDP. And it is still the top four dollar earning industry in the country today,” Boncato pointed out.

Boncato revealed that as of September this year, over 3 million foreign tourists have already visited the country, and he is optimistic that the country will meet its target of 5.5 million tourist arrivals this year. (PIA9)