Durano to lead Guisi Discovery Quest launching
Department of Tourism (DOT) Secretary Joseph Durano will lead the launching of the Guisi Discovery Quest in the the town of Nueva Valencia, in the island-province of Guimaras on Saturday. Guisi is a community-based tourism project.
The launching is set after the regional tourism office headed by Director Edwin Trompeta in cooperation with the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), Canadian Urban Institute (CUI) and Department of Environment and Natural Resources completed its development program as community-based tourism project in Sitio Guisi, Barangay Dolores, Nueva Valencia.
Durano, in his letter addressed to Guimaras Gov. Felipe Hilan Nava, said the initiative is part of Tourism Recovery Program identified by DOT to assist the residents who suffered from the oil spill. It provides an alternative livelihood to the community members through tour guiding, food preparation and handling as well as visitor interpretation and management,"
Durano's letter was dated April 1, 2008. He will lead the launching and turn-over of Guisi Community Tourism Enterprise Project to BDTC at Guisi Heritage Cottage. Guisi Discovery Quest is managed and operated by the Barangay Dolores Tourism Council (BDTC).
It is community-based tourism project that benefits the barangay where the attraction is located. Guisi is a unique experience where visitors can frolic in the village's white-sand beach. Tourists can also enjoy mountain hiking, enjoy local food and its cultural presentation and time-travel under a Spanish-era lighthouse.
The multi-awarded Guisi Heritage Tourism Project, a village-based economic enterprise that features multi-stakeholder and participatory approaches, intends to introduce community-managed initiatives to preserve and promote natural, cultural, agricultural and religious heritage of the province.
It also received the Urban Leadership Award from CUI in 2005. In the past two years, the DOT-6 during its Western Visayas Tourism Assembly cited BDTC for managing the Guisi Community-Based Heritage Tourism Project