By Wabilyn Mana-od
BONTOC,
Mountain Province – This year’s edition
of the Am-among Festival is set to formally open here tomorrow (Sept. 10) with
Mayor PascualSacgaca giving emphasis on the theme “Surviving change through the
promotion of Eco-Cultural Tourism.”
The
festival is now on its 8th year and is expected to attract many
visitors due to many innovations and improvements introduced in connection with
the present administration’s vision to make the capital town of Bontoc a
favorite eco-cultural tourism destination.
The
Bontoc tourism promotion website at http://bontoctourism.com
has been launched to promote the event. The website is a joint project of the
municipal government through the initiative of Sacgaca in partnership with the
XIJEN College of Mountain Province.
The
website project is designed to promote tourism industry of the municipality.
A
report made by Web coordinator Joel Fagsao,
as of August, said there were 910 visitors; and more than 22,000 pages
have been visited by local and foreign tourists. The website has 24 posts and
57 pages.
Visitors
reportedly came from different parts of the world such as the Philippines,
United States of America, Canada, Hong Kong, Great Britain, Saudi Arabia,
United Arab Emirates, Israel, and Germany. The record is based accordingly with
the indicator being used in web programming.
Another
innovation launched was the photo gallery which is an output and production of
the photo documentation team authorized by the mayor to document all the
existing, undiscovered, and hidden tourist attractions, natural wonders, and
cultural heritage sites of the sixteen barangays of the municipality.
The
photos shall preserved what is Bontoc today. The photo gallery shall be open
until September 17, 2012.
A
tourist information map had been also unveiled during the opening by Sacgaca
with Board Member Salvador Dalang. The map shall serve as a directory to
foreign and local tourist visiting the capital town.
The
map is also an offshoot of the documentation committee showcasing pictures of
different tourist attractions per barangay.
Relative
to the aim of the local government to make Bonotc as eco-cultural tourism, members
and officers of the New Bontoc Eco-Tourism Council had been reorganized during
a meeting conducted by the Mayor’s Office with the civic groups, national line
agencies and department heads of the local government.
The
members of the council take oath before board member and chairman on tourism
and education Salvador K. Dalang during the opening of the Am-among 2012
emphasizing to do their duties and take part in the promotion of eco-tourism
industry of the municipality.
Timely
for the scheduled opening were visitors from the Trinity College of Asia under
the College of Hospitability and Tourism Management who came along from Manila
to mingle and experience the Bontoc way of life as a local tourist.
As
requirement of their course they were sent by their professors to discover the
wonders and tourist attractions of the municipality.
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