All the four regions of North Philippines (NorthPhil) comprising the Cordilleras, Ilocos and Pangasinan, Cagayan Valley, and Central Luzon are bracing for a tourism boom arising from the government’s ongoing “Build, Build, Build” infrastructure program.
Part of this massive infrastructure buildup covers the country’s airports, which NorthPhil hosts the most number and stands to benefit the most.
NorthPhil hosts the international airports in Clark, Subic and Laoag; principal domestic airports in Baguio City in the Cordilleras, Basco in Batanes, and Tuguegarao in Cagayan; and the community airports in Bagabag in Nueva Vizcaya, Baler in Aurora, Cauayan and Palanan in Isabela, Iba in Zambales, Itbayat Island in Batanes, Lingayen and Rosales in Pangasinan, Plaridel in Bulacan, Poro Point in La Union, and Vigan in Ilocos Sur.
Most of those provinces form part of two super-regions – the North Luzon Agribusiness Quadrangle and the Metro Luzon Urban Beltway, both also accessible by sea.
All of NorthPhil can be reached by land from any of its three international airports, especially Clark with its ever-increasing number of international and domestic flights and a passenger volume expected to reach 1.5 million by end-2017. And unlike the international airport in Manila, Clark has so much land for expansion.
From Clark, the rest of northern Luzon can be reached by land through three major road arteries of world-class quality – the Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway, North Luzon Expressway and the Tarlac-Pangasinan-La Union Expressway, which is due for completion early next year – thus making tourism traffic more convenient than any other region of NorthPhil’s magnitude.
All such developments are swiftly increasing the super-region’s absorptive capacity for tourists and tourism investments, making the four regional offices of the Department of Tourism join hands in intensifying the marketing campaign for NorthPhil as a single destination.
“Moreover, the DOT offices in CAR, Region 1 [Ilocandia], Region 2 [Cagayan Valley] and Region 3 [Central Luzon] have partnered with the private sector [Association of Tourism Officers of Central Luzon and Cebu Pacific Air] in promoting our super-region through the NorthPhil Tourism and Travel Expo, with the SBMA [Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority], CDC [Clark Development Corp.], TIEZA [Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority], NLEX Corp. and the provinces of Aurora, Bataan, Zambales and Pampanga, and the Angeles City Tourism Office as sponsors,” said DOT Region 3 officer-in-charge Carol de Guzman-Uy.
“Through the expo, we will showcase the finest tourism wonders of North Philippines in one venue—the SM City Clark, Pampanga – on Nov. 17-19,” De Guzman-Uy said.
The event, being organized by the Philippine Exhibits and Themeparks Corp., adopts the theme of the United Nations World Tourism Organization.
The theme International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development highlights the contributions of tourism to the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals.
“Thus, the NorthPhil Expo also aims to raise awareness on how sustainable tourism can improve the people’s quality of life through developmental governance and community support,” De Guzman-Uy said.