The City of Pines has won the Association of SouthEast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Clean Tourist City Award for 2020-2022 after gaining enough points and complying with the requirements of the Asean Clean Tourist City Standard (ACTCS) early this year.
The other two cities receiving the same award in the Philippines are Iloilo City and San Carlos City of Negros Occidental.
In a letter to Mayor Benjamin Magalong, Department of Tourism – Office of Tourism Standards and Regulations (OTSR) Director Rebecca Villanueva-Labit confirmed that Baguio City has successfully garnered the number of points required to be one of the three Philippine winners to receive the award.
“The award is given to cities that have endeavored to beautify their public areas, improved the environmental sanitation, enhanced urban spaces and promoted their man-made natural resources,” Villanueva-Labit stated.
In the official website of the ASEAN, awardees were assessed by their commitment to sustainable tourism particularly through seven indicators: Environmental Management; Cleanliness; Waste Management; Awareness-Building about Environmental Protection and Cleanliness; Green Spaces; Health Safety, Urban Safety, and Security; and Tourism Infrastructure and Facilities.
The awarding ceremony is scheduled January 16 next year in Brunei Darrusalam.
Mayor Benjamin Magalong was elated with the award saying the credit goes to the tourism community of Baguio particularly the Hotel and Restaurant Association of Baguio and the Baguio Tourism Office who pushed for Baguio to be one of the awardees.
Prior to the award, Baguio became the first city in the Philippines named UNESCO’s Creative City under the Crafts and Folk Arts category in 2017.
The city is also famous for its annual Panagbenga Flower Festival drawing over a million visitors for the month-long event. **Jessa Mardy P. Samidan
