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Agencies Collaborate for Renewed Tourism in Cebu North
The Cebu Provincial Government and the Department of Interior and Local Government collaborate with the Canadian Government to rebuild the tourism circuit in Yolanda-stricken north Cebu.
The tourism circuit covers the towns of Bantayan, Sta. Fe, Madridejos, Daanbantayan, Medellin, San Remigio, and Bogo City.
The project, dubbed as local governance support program for local economic development (LGSP-LED), connects various government, non-government and private agencies to help the affected towns from the November 2013 disaster.
Efforts will be poured into improving tourist destinations and diving sites, workforce in resorts and restaurants as well as small- and medium-sized businesses and agriculture in the area, said Mel Allego, LGSP-LED project implementation manager in the recent weekly Kapistorya forum.
To achieve this, LGSP-LED targets to increase tourist arrivals by 10%, generate 200 employment opportunities and bring in P200 million worth of investments, he added.
He also revealed that the project’s funds come from the Canadian Executive Agency, among others.
Allego emphasized though that LGSP-LED would just serve as a mediator between various agencies focusing on capacity-building and trainings for the community.
Cebu Province belongs to the third batch of LGSP-LED, along with Palawan, Albay-Sorsogon, Iloilo, Antique, Negros Occidental, Negros Oriental, Siquijor and Davao del Norte.
Northern Cebu is the pilot area for the province.
Series of trainings and workshops have already been conducted with local employment services officers, economic and investments promotions officers and tourism officers in preparation of the program’s implementation.
Despite challenges in communication with agencies, Allego revealed that the project will go into full blast starting mid this year until 2016.
Apart from tourism, LGSP-LED will also assist in improving the agricultural sector in support to the resorts and restaurants in the circuit.
www.cebu.gov.ph
