TABUK CITY, Kalinga – The Association of the Tourism Officers of the Philippines (ATOP) recently named Tabuk City Tourism Officer Arlene Ethel Odiem as the Most Outstanding Tourism Officer city category during the 2016 Department of Tourism (DOT)-ATOP National Pearl Award last October 6, 2016.
Said awarding ceremony took place during the DOT-ATOP 17th National Convention held at Clark Field Pampanga from October 4 to 7 with the theme “Tourism for all: Promoting Universal Accessibility.”
The Tabuk City Tourism Office was also cited for two awards namely Best Tourism Event-Adventure (city category) and Best Practices on Community-Based Responsible Tourism Campaign (city category).
According to Odiem, all three entries of the city government passed the three-phase evaluation set by DOT-ATOP where out of more than a hundred entries, 68 passed the first screening and 33 the second screening. For the above mentioned categories only the City of Tabuk she said passed for the top three category level, thus they were given the citations.
The city’s entry for the Best Tourism Event-Adventure Category she said was the Naneng Community Life Tour Adventure, a joint endeavor of the Tabuk CTO, the Barangay Naneng Tourism Council and DOT-CAR. The event included an immersion with the people’s village way of life set in a village of pre-modern design homes. As an eco-cultural tourism adventure, the activity provided a venue for the tourists to experience the authentic community practices of the locals from rituals, music, dances, preparing traditional cuisine and weaving.
The KumustahangTurismo sa Barangay also made it as the only entry to reach the top three level for the Best Practices on Community-Based Responsible Tourism Campaign. This program was designed to increase the people’s awareness of tourism development in the barangays. Through a series of consultation, this project was formulated to gather vital information on the needs and concerns of the people that can be addressed in enhancing their potential tourism activities. The project also included the conduct of tourism awareness seminars, organization of Barangay Tourism Councils, product development training and workshop, barangay festival management and organization, and the exploration and evaluation of potential natural attractions.
The ATOP-DOT Pearl Award she said recognizes the Best Tourism Practices in the country through various tourism projects and innovations spearheaded by the ATOP as the award-giving-body to honor the great efforts made by the people in the tourism industry, most especially the Local Government Units.
Said awarding recognizes men and women for their contribution to the community and the tourism industry to “send a strong message that creative works and exceptional services and their cause are not going to be ignored or taken for granted but instead these should be noticed and recognized and will be publicized to provide visibility and recognition as rewards for such noble deeds.”
The Best Tourism Practices Awards was launched during the 6th ATOP National Convention held in Bacolod City in 2005 in partnership with the DOT institutionalizing said annual recognition with the following Major Award Categories namely Best Tourism Event, Best Tourism-Oriented LGU, Best Tourism Month/Week Celebration/Event, Most Outstanding Tourism Officer, and Most Outstanding Tourism Officers Club/Organization/Association. **By Geraldine B. Gacuya
