The opening of the 22nd Negros Occidental Tourism Week and fair at the Ayala Malls Capitol Central in Bacolod City on Monday.*Ronnie Baldonado photo
Negros Occidental is aiming to become a top tourism destination in Western Visayas again, Provincial Administrator Rayrando Diaz said on Monday, September 19.
Diaz, in an interview at the opening of the 22nd Negros Occidental Tourism Week at the Ayala Malls Capitol Central, said before the COVID-19 pandemic Negros Occidental came in next to Boracay as a top tourist destination in the region.
The province hopes to regain that position, he said.
The theme of this year’s tourism week in Negros Occidental is “Rethinking Tourism”.
Diaz said they are rethinking tourism to ensure sustainable development and that economic benefits trickle down to the communities where tourist destinations are located.
Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson, in his speech read for him by Diaz, said “Tourism used to be characterized on leisure and service. While such emphasis is essential to the industry, let us now look at tourism as a tool for advancing sustainable development and a driving force for social inclusion, an engine for prosperity and integration, and a means to protect our planet”.
“The re-opening of tourism is a golden opportunity to ensure that it will benefit our SMSEs, local communities, and rural populations. As we re-open, we will see to it that no one will be left behind,” Lacson said.*