ALL IN A WEEKS WORK

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Best Tour Guide Award 2018

 

Tourism Week 2018 Celebration
 
It’s been a year since the Province of Negros Occidental  was awarded Hall of Fame in the National ATOP Pearl Awards besting all other provinces in the country for the Celebration of Tourism Month in the Philippines.



Arriving  late in the afternoon from the recently concluded Philippine Travel Mart and the National Tourism Summit for Tourism Officers and Tour Operators. It was a fast  three hour ride to Sipalay the next day on a cold morning, the waves were high, many surfers caught my attention at the public beach in the city. We were billeted at the Tourism Center where aircon rooms are available just right in front of the beach.
We had a walk about with about seven  tricycle drivers  at the old city hall we walked to the plaza, then the statue of our national hero Jose Rizal, followed by an interesting story of the police station where a 1943 bell hangs and is used to this day. Each driver had his spiel and they delivered it very well even at the market, and one could tell all the names of the fishes on display. I did learn a lot that day where I never heard such stories before, thanks to Mr. Nathaniel Zaragoza for sharing the notes to the guides before he retires next month.
Tour Guides Cidni Mapa Arturo Lacson Jenny Cordero and Verna Tan


North Negros  Tourism Officers

Sipalay was celebrating the tourism week with a food parade , a quiz from students to employees, participated in a national dive how, and one of the highlights was the tour guiding competition. When in Sipalay you may try to learn surfing when the waves are high, or take a tour for 1,200 to 1,500 around town and visit the resorts on a tricycle with a driver guide. This is what you call as empowering the community.

Basic Life Support
Speaking to Life Guard Trainees
The next day was fun as we went to Balicaocao Highland Resort this time to train 25 life guards from different resorts and individuals from Kabankalan, Ilog and Candoni. We were hosted by Ms. Bernadette Ayala at the highland resort with a swimming pool, the three day event was also held at the Baywatch Mangrove area and Mag-aso Falls all in Kabankalan. Philippine Life Saving Team conducted the training co sponsored by the Provincial Tourism Office and Kabankalan City. Next in line is La Carlota, Cadiz and Himamaylan for the Basic Life Saving Training. The said training was part of the tourism week celebration of Kabankalan.
Cadiz City was my next stop and for two days we visited 35 establishments for the Best Accommodation Establishment annual competition including seven Barangays. 
STI WNU Kaaanyag Dancers at the Tourism Fair


Ilog Mudcrabs
 We visited resorts, hotels,  restaurants and bakeries and tasted so many food preparations with the Crispy Pata of Tito Ruds, Black Spaghetti of Laura, Seafood Canape and Greek Salad of Terrace Garden Restaurant, Alne’s delicious salad and soup,   star bread from the New City Bakery or the yummy loaf bread of Cenias Bakeshop. Little Jungle already have rooms for guests staying overnight, a big kingfisher was showing off during our visit flying from one tree to the other. Tingson Beach has improve a lot with a very clean beach front just like RL Apartelle and Magdalene Hotel to name a few.
Tourism Officers at the Fair


Cadiz also had a band competition, a cook fest of seafood and pastries. Tomorrow the Provincial Tourism Office begins the celebration with a travel fair at Robinson’s Mall with an exhibit of the different districts represented by the towns and cities to be highlighted with the Tour Guiding Competition and the School Hour represented by Tourism Schools showcasing talents. 

Bacolod City on the other hand had a Tourism Awards Night , and what a pleasant surprise to note that I won the Best Tour Guide awards through the help of  social media friends with the most number of shares and likes.
Tourism Educators and Tour Operators with Vice Governor Bong Lacson



  Tourism and Digital Transformation is UNWTO World Tourism Day theme. The 32 Towns and Cities had a three-day exhibit at the mall with various competitions on tour guiding, a food parade was held showcasing delicacies in Negros Occidental towns and cities,

Negrense delicacies
Pasayan

Lechon de Kabankalan
Danggit

with Vice Gov. Bong Lacson
a tourism forum was held with media influencers Jojo Vito and Joji Alcantara with Sustainable Tourism advocate Apple Allison as speakers.

Happy Tourism Officers  Butch Mark and Janeth


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