DUMAGUETE CITY, Philippines — Philippine Tour Operators Association Inc., the country’s leading and largest travel and tours group, and the provincial government of Negros Oriental joined hands in efforts to spur the tourism industry in the province.For 2024, executive director and provincial tourism board chair of Negros Oriental Tourism Council Woodrow “RR” Maquiling Jr. said that the province targets 500,000 tourist arrivals, an increase from last year’s 272,000 inbound tourists.
The provincial tourism official said that tour operators can help Negros Oriental recover from the impact of COVID-19 and promoting the province to international and local clients. Currently, the province is led by Gov. Manuel "Chaco" Sagarbarría who assumed office in May 2023. Maquiling said tourism is among the top priorities of the incumbent provincial government who wishes to push tourism, culture and arts as an economic driver for the people of Negros Oriental.
Maria Lourdes Japson, PHILTOA 1st vice president and former Department of Tourism assistant secretary, said that the business-to-business session is “an excellent platform for sharing insights, exploring innovative strategies for tour packaging and marketing and discussing how we can collectively enhance our tourism products and services as well as destination management in order to create exceptional travel experiences.
“Congratulations and thank you also to my fellow former DOT executive ED RR. As our humble response for your kind gesture Gov Chaco and ED RR, we promise to promote and share our experiences here, we will do our best to boost the tourism arrivals just what ED RR expects from us. With what we experience yesterday and today and hopefully for the coming days, we believe Negros Oriental is truly a diverse destination that is truly visiting for,” Japson added.