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| Delegates showcase their respective traditions in a parade to start the 2019 Association of Tourism Officers in the Philippines convention. The Ilocos Norte and Laoag City governments jointly hosted the event October 2-5, 2019. (Doms dela Cruz) |
By Dominic B. dela Cruz
Staff Reporter
Laoag City—With at least 1,200 tourism officers joining this year’s Association of Tourism Officers in the Philippines National Convention, the Ilocos Norte provincial government pulled all the stops in hosting the annual event.
Highlighting the four-day convention is the Association of Tourism Officers in the Philippines and Department of Tourism (ATOP-DOT) Pearl Awards for Best Tourism Practices of the Philippines on October 4, 2019 held in front of the Paoay Church. This aims to recognize the efforts of LGUs towards the advancement of the country’s tourism industry.
This year’s ATOP National Convention is hosted by Ilocos Norte which won first place in the Pearl Award’s 2018 Best Tourism-Oriented Local Government Unit (LGU)Category last year, after two consecutive runner-up finishes.
Provincial tourism officer Ianree Raquel is hopeful for a fine weather on the arrival of the visitors.
“We’re praying for a very good weather for this week. Our visitors will start to arrive tomorrow and we are hoping na hindi umulan para mas maganda ang experience ng mga tourism officers natin aswe showcase our best practices,” Mr. Raquel expressed.
“This is an opportunity for us to showcase the province since this is a very unique convention and it is the biggest gathering of tourism officers. Aside from the plenary session and lectures and learning conferences, they [visitors] will also be having an immersion tour around the province,” he added.
Ilocos Norte nominee for best tourism-oriented province anew
Mr. Raquel is also hopeful to win another award after the province is again included in the nominees for this year’s Pearl Awards, saying, “Last year, we won as the Best Tourism-Oriented Province award. This year, we are one of the finalists, along with Misamis Oriental, Samar, and Quirino Province.”
“It’s a very tight contest and we are very happy that we have won last year. Hindi natin alam kung ano ang kapalaran natin ngayon. We are hoping for the best and at the same time, we have to play a good host. We really hope for a back-to-back win.” (With a report by Stewart C. Ocampo)