Davao City’s tourism industry players and the City Tourism Office expressed dismay over the delay of the Davao Tourism Master Plan despite the P10 million budget allotment for crafting it.
City Tourism Operations Officer head Generose Tecson said the Tourism Master Plan was approved and budgeted by the Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority (TIEZA) in 2017 and was expected to be completed by the third quarter of 2018.
“We want it to happen right away sana because we have plans for Davao City and we have been very vocal about it,” said Tecson during the Habi at Kape media forum last Wednesday.
Tecson said they already made discussions on the matter with tourism undersecretary Arturo Boncato Jr., DOT assistant secretary Roberto Alabado, and Department of Tourism (DOT)-Davao director Tanya Tan during their stakeholders meeting. She also said that they asked the said tourism officials for assistance in following up with TIEZA.
“The veterans in the industry said that way back in the 1990’s, the problem I was expressing were also the problems they were saying. Ang pinaka important is meron kang master plan, a bible to follow para alam mo anon ang direction mo,” Tecson said. “Although, it (master plan) had been bided out already. In fact, we have several meetings naman sa nanalong bidder. We have two or three meetings already but sadly yun nga wala pa.”
The tourism industry relayed their sentiments to Tourism undersecretary Boncato by asking for a consultant with good qualifications to do the tourism master plan which will set as a guide for the next three to twenty years.
The tourism master plan will define the state of the current tourism industry, the city’s strong and weak points. It will also help to identify the things to improve on and create the Davao City tourism branding.
Tecson said the delay was due to the people assigned to craft the master plan who she believes are “not qualified.”
