What is in San Jose de Buenavista, Antique when we talk about tourism? Is there something for the Municipality in tourism? Wat needs to be done to encourage tourism in the Municipality?
These were the the questions the municipal LGU of San Jose de Buenavista, Antique is trying to answer in a multi-stakeholder workshop.
In attendance in the workshop were industry players - accommodation, food and beverage service, resort, transportation and souvenir sectors; local government decision-makers – planning officer, municipal engineer, investment promotion officer, sangguniang bayan members, barangay official, disaster manager; provincial government; academe; support agencies – Department of Trade and Industry; and local chamber of commerce.
This activity aims to were convened to determine the tourism direction of the town.
It is expected that after the workshop, the LGU will be able to come up a Municipal Tourism Development Plan and a Municipal Tourism Code.
Mayor Rony L. Molina, in his message stressed the importance of the multi-sectoral planning workshop so that the development effort of the private and public sector is synchronized.
San Jose de Buenavista is the capital town of the Province of Antique and is the center of trade, commerce and finance of the Province. It is the center of provincial government/ administration.
It serves as the tourism service center of the Province. It offers an array of conveniences, supplies and support facilities to visitors such as restaurants, fastfood stores, grocery and shopping stores, gaming and gambling establishments, banks and transport terminals. It also offers venue and infrastructure for various events such as sports competitions, meetings, trainings and seminars, and weddings and tourism activities like shopping and dining.
In the workshop, stakeholders sees that San Jose de Buenavista could capitalize on the available infrastructure, amenities and services to expand the business tourism market to MICE (meetings, incentives, conference and events/ exhibitions).
San Jose de Buenavista has been one of the pioneering LGUs in the Philippines in the Developing Tourism Statistics for Local Government Units project of the
Department of Tourism (DOT) and the
Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).
It has been chosen as one of the presenter in the 1st
National Tourism Statistics Conference (pictures
album 1,
album 2) held in Manila, February this year.
The local Planning and Development Office hopes that the Municipality will serve as model for other LGUs wanting to engage in tourism but sees little hope for the industry in their locality.
