ZAMBOANGA CITY (MindaNews/24 January) – To provide alternative sources of income to host communities, the Department of Tourism (DOT) will conduct a training on community-based tourism in this southern port city.
DOT Senior Tourism Operations Officer Marilou Silorio said Monday the training, which will be held on January 28 and 29, is designed to orient and level off understanding on tourism among members of the city’s newly created multi-sectoral committee on ecotourism.[]
Silorio said the training, which will be held in partnership with the local government, is also aimed to develop criteria that will serve as basis for assessing and prioritizing the potential sites for tourism development.
The committee has so far identified six potential eco-tourism sites in this city for further assessment and evaluation for possible development.
These are the waterfalls in Barangay Dulian-Upper Bunguiao, Merloquet falls in Barangay Sibulao, Nancy falls in Barangay La Paz, Busay waterfalls in Barangay San Roque, Salaan cave in Barangay Salaan, and, Manicahan cave in Barangay Manicahan.
“The most viable approach to develop these identified areas is through community-based toursim, thus the conduct of the two-day training,” Silorio said.
Community-based tourism is a responsible type of tourism that seeks to involve host communities like the six identified ecotourism sites, she said.[]
