MARAWI CITY, Lanao del Sur (PIA)--The Ministry of Trade, Investment and Tourism (MTIT) here in Lanao del Sur highlighted the essential role of the tourism sector in peacebuilding and economic development of the province.
MTIT Senior Tourism Operations Officer Prince Shoudery Galo said tourism generates employment and is an integral source of income for the people.
"Tourism is a business, it creates employment and generates income. It is a great vehicle for peace and development," he said.
Seeing the potential contribution of tourism to the growth and development of the province, MTIT held a two-day seminar workshop on the Filipino Brand of Service Excellence (FBSE) and tourism product development to upskill tourism stakeholders on service delivery and tourism promotion.
"One of the challenges in Lanao del Sur is that they don't see the tourism industry as a priority. So we thought of convening our tourism stakeholders para makita nila gaano ka importante ang tourism [for them to see how important tourism is]," he said
Alongside the FBSE workshop, Galo said they are also strengthening the promotion of local festivals and destinations to attract more tourists as this can build up socio-economic activities.
For July to September this year, the MTIT registered 3,910 tourist arrivals of which 3,786 are domestic tourists while 124 are foreigners.
Meanwhile, the provincial government of Lanao del Sur is also intensifying its campaign to promote the province as a tourist destination.
The province is participating, as part of the Bangsamoro region contingent, in this year's Philippine Travel Mart expo, the longest-running travel trade exhibition in the country.
The tourism office likewise spearheaded on Sept. 27 the Meranaw Artisan Summit featuring the craftsmanship and products of local artisans (APB/PIA-10 Lanao del Sur
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