Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat said she brought hotelier Hanky Lee to Negros Occidental on Wednesday in the hope that he will invest in the province.
“I hope he really decides to put up a hotel here,” said Puyat, who was in Negros Occidental on Tuesday and Wednesday, May 17 and 18.
Lee is the owner and founder of the Filipino vintage-modern The Henry hotels, that have stories to tell of the localities they are located in, she said, citing the rich heritage Negros Occidental has to offer.
Lee was so surprised with what he saw, he wants to return to Negros and bring his friends, she said.
Local and foreign tourists should know more about what Negros Occidental has to offer, she said.
Puyat visited the Gaston Ancestral House, Chapel of the Cartwheels, and the Hacienda Crafts weavers in Hacienda Sta. Rosalia in Manapla on Wednesday.
She was accompanied by Lee, Tourism Regional Director Cristine Mansinares, Slow Food Community Negros Island member Ramon Uy Jr. and Provincial Tourism Officer Cheryl Decena.
Puyat is ending her term as tourism secretary and said she is moving on to another job.
“You don’t have to be tourism secretary to promote the country,” she said.*