Tourism execs push for CamSur as tour site

Philippine Daily Inquirer

PILI, Camarines Sur—With the province earning its niche in tourism as an extreme sports site in the country, officials of the Department of Tourism (DoT) came here Tuesday to see for themselves the prospects of intensifying the promotion of Camarines Sur (CamSur) in the international market.

Tourism Secretary Joseph “Ace” H. Durano said DoT officials were going around top tourist destinations in the country to prepare a marketing package to increase tourist arrivals.

Durano pledged to continue providing financial support to major tourism-related activities in CamSur like international wakeboarding, dragon boat and Ironman competitions.

Governor Luis Raymund “LRay” Villafuerte Jr. said the DoT initiative will help push the provincial government’s continuing tourism programs.

He said next year the provincial government is again holding an international marathon that targets 20,000 participants.

Villafuerte said the success of CamSur in its tourism program is also the result of close coordination with Durano.

He said revenues from tourism have placed CamSur in the top 10 richest provinces from its 39th place two years ago.

Durano said he will push for the upgrading of the Naga Airport through the installation of modern lighting to allow night flights and extending the length of the runway to accommodate bigger planes.

Durano said CamSur’s network must be expanded by connecting it to major airports in top tourist destinations like Cebu, Davao, and Boracay.

He said the next step after packaging the top tourist destinations in the country is to sell them to ranking tourism operators abroad.

The DoT has recently ranked CamSur as the top tourist destination in the country.