Davao Oriental Heritage and Tourism Development Plan Project

Tourism industry is one of the trending industries in the county at present but Philippines is yet to fulfill its considerable potential and establish itself as a premier tourist destination in Asia, taking advantage of the increasing development of the Asia Pacific region into one of the world’s fastest growing tourist regions. Background

In the country, Davao Regions’ comparative advantage in tourism industry lies in its natural and cultural heritage. Among the region’s natural and cultural tourism products, Davao Oriental has the most number of products classified as natural. The province boasts of diverse natural spots such as cascading waterfalls, pristine lakes and rivers, idyllic white sand beaches, exotic islands, lush forest and a bonsai forest. There are also cultural and historical sites such as the Cape of San Agustin where St. Francis Xavier was supposed to have said mass, and the 17th century San Salvador Church of Caraga that houses antique bell and images of saints.

Heritage and Tourism Development Plan is a decision making process that emanates from significant heritages of the community that would evolve tourism market ensuring the balance between conservation and socio economic development. This is a crucial need to ensure that the tourism industry can develop and thrive, thereby maximizing these valuable economic, social, and environmental benefits. At the same time, the planning system aims to ensure that these benefits are achieved in the most sustainable manner possible.

Objectives:  Develop the municipal tourism officers capacity building through training, focused group discussion training session on tourism circuits;  Assist the tourism committee with specific action items and task to move forward;  Prepare and deliver training presentations on tourism circuit planning through mapping and historical verification based on tourism data;  Provide parameters for NCCA, DOT accredition systems and processes;  Prepare these circuits for possible NGOs, private and academe support.

Module I (2 days) Level Off - Registration - Introduction - Overview of Tourism Circuit Planning and Development - Level Off (Each Municipality present current tourism program, tourism data base, tourism approaches, tourism indicators) - Heritage Makakain Ba Yan? (Lecture) - Integration Note: Assignment is to identify the top tourism icons with accompanying researched materials

Module II (3 days) Data Validation Day 1 Registration Introduction The Bottom Line of Storytelling (Lecture) Presentation of Municipal Tourism Data Day 2 Identification of Top 5 Iconic Contents per Municipality Field work to write and research (archival, oral and physical research) Write Statement of Significance with attached reference Day 3 Presentation of Statements of Significance Shooting the SOS Closing

Module III (3 days) Tour Benchmark Day 1 Introduction Tourism Content vis a vis Tourism Context (Banchmark: DOT Template for HTC) World Heritage Education (Lecture) Day 2 Tour (Benchmark for culture-arts-heritage) Tour (Benchmark for eco-agri-adventure) Day 3 Evaluation Report on the tours based on Benchmarks Enhancement of the DOT Template for Circuit development Closing

Module IV (2 days/2 days Split) ( NCCA-DOT/Circuit Development) Day 1 Introduction National Commission fro Culture and the Arts Lecture Festivals Management Lecture Heritage Conservation (Escuela Taller) Lecture Day 2 Department of Tourism Lecture (National Programs) International Tourism Campaigns (Mexico/Thailand/India) Video Angeles Case Study/Vigan Case Study Closing

Module IV (cont.) Note: Assignment is to develop municipal circuits based on inputs and a video campaign Day 1 Introduction Presentation of Circuit Development per Municipality with video campaign Group Evaluation of circuits based content, context and cost Day 2 Presentation to Provincial Governor Evaluation Closing

Module V (1 day/2 days) (Other stakeholders/The Run) Day 1 Introduction Presentation of Circuits to Stakeholders Evaluation of Stakeholders and Fine Tune Day 1 Introduction Actual Circuit Tour Test Run Day 2 Evaluation and Fine Tune of the Circuits Writing of Initial reports Closing

Output: Produce a comprehensive heritage and tourism development plan for Davao Oriental Series of training seminars and workshops that will build up into a tour campaign for the province; Consolidate the visions and actions of the whole province into a tour destination; Transform the provincial/ municipal offices from the level of awareness to heritage utilization for sustainable development.

Thank you!

ISSUES and CONCERNS Commitments ??? – attendance and assignments Concerns: – Multiple jobs/functions of TOs – Logistical requirements

TIMELINES (What to do next?) Include 2 teachers in the LGU Team Finish 2-3 sessions then go down to Mayors Get talking points to discuss w LGU heads Composite team per LGUs – MPDCs, TOs, 2 teachers, 1 SB Comm. on Tourism – permanent and committed participants Comply checklist in terms of minimum requirements for AEs, and other TREs. Tourism programs in parallel w the Capacity Building