Slow Food International Councilor for Southeast Asia Ramon Uy Jr., Tourism Secretary Christina Garcia Frasco, Bacolod Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez, Slow Food International Director General Paolo di Croce, and Slow Food Community of Negros President Reena Gamboa (l-r) at the TWG meeting on Thursday.*DOT photo
The Department of Tourism (DOT) led by Secretary Christina Garcia Frasco convened a Technical Working Group (TWG) meeting on Thursday, Feb. 27, in preparation for the Philippines’ hosting of Terra Madre Asia Pacific 2025 in Bacolod City in November.
The session held at the DOT Central Office in Makati City brought together officials and representatives from Slow Food International, the Department of Agriculture (DA), the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA), along with delegates from the Negros Occidental provincial government and Bacolod City, the hosts of this first Philippine edition.
The DOT led the Philippine participations in Terra Madre Salone del Gusto 2024 in Turin, Italy, last year. A key highlight of the participation was the signing of a Memorandum of Agreement designating Bacolod City, Negros Occidental, as the official Slow Food Hub for Asia and the Pacific.
The TWG meeting on Terra Madre Asia Pacific 2025 on Thursday aimed to establish an executive committee and assign specific tasks to the participating government agencies to ensure the smooth preparation and execution of the hosting, slated in November this year, a DOT press release said.
The DOT has prioritized food and gastronomy tourism as an integral part of the National Tourism Development Plan (NTDP) 2023-2028.
Frasco called for a united, decisive effort to ensure the success of the country’s upcoming hosting, as the DOT seeks to further strengthen the country’s continued emergence as a gastronomic destination.
“We will really need your full and equivocal support and stamp of support for the Philippines through Slow Food, for us to be able to service this intention that we are emerging as a gastronomy tourism destination, and we are doing so in a manner that is sustainable and respectful of slow food principles,” Frasco said.*