Lingayen- – -Pangasinan has recently bagged two 1st runner-up recognitions conducted by the Association of Tourism Officers of the Philippines, Inc. (ATOP) under its umbrella program dubbed Best Tourism Practices Awards which is in partnership with the Department of Tourism (DOT).
Provincial Tourism, Culture and Arts Office (PTCAO) chief Ma. Luisa A. Elduayan, who presented the two awards during the regular flag-raising ceremony at the Capitol last October 12, identified the two awards as Best Tourism Events Festival Category for the province’s
Pistay Dayat 2014 celebration, and Pangasinan Tourism Month 2014 celebration.
Elduayan said that the Pistay Dayat celebration ended second best next to the Panaad Festival of Negros Occidental.
The award, she said, is given as an institutionalized recognition for exceptional practices, projects and innovations done by the local government units (LGUs) in terms of tourism development.
Elduayan added that Pangasinan will not be able to achieve such recognitions if not because of the full support of the present administration specifically Gov. Amado T. Espino, Jr., who initiated all the remarkable tourism reforms for the province which is likewise aimed at further boosting local culture and arts.
The prestigious award giving body was launched in 2005 with an objective not only to institutionalize the annual system of recognition but to celebrate the best in the tourism industry that each LGU contributes.
It also aims to honor the great efforts of the people in terms of community participation and to pay tribute to the rest of society.
In terms of tourism development under the Espino administration, the province incurred more than 55,000 tourist-based accommodations in 2007 in which it has increased to 400,000 while almost 3.4 million day-time visitors were recorded based on Pangasinan’s tourist destinations.
With regards to the number of tourist arrivals, Pangasinan posted the highest number in Region 1 based on the tourist accommodation in hotels and other tourism facilities which reached over 365,000 in 2014.
The province has also been cited as a “destination of choice” among various groups in and outside the province which conduct study tours with the Capitol complex as centerpiece of attraction. (Ruby R. Bernardino)