A CONGRESSMAN on Thursday asked the Tourism department to promote his home province as one of the country’s surfing destinations.
“A lot of you may not know this, but in Ilocos Sur, we also have Cabugao, which is a world-class surfing spot,” Ilocos Sur Rep. Ronald V. Singson told Tourism officials at a hearing.
The lawmaker said surfing had brought tourism dollars to Bali. “Its effects trickled down to the entire tourism industry, and this is something we can also do in our country.”
When people have a fun sports experience, they have a tendency to come back, he added.
Tourism Secretary Christina Garcia-Frasco said they would hold a surfing summit in La Union in October and discuss how to promote surfing in the Philippines. To enhance diving tourism, the agency funded the Philippine Commission of Sports Scuba Diving, she pointed out.
Mr. Singson said that the agency should not only focus on scuba diving but on other sports as well. An agency could also be created under the Tourism department so it can create programs for sports tourism destinations, he added. — Kyanna Angela Bulan