Guimaras wins in 2nd int'l economic revitalization
The Province of Guimaras is among the eight winners in the International Seminar-Strategies of City-to-City Cooperation for Economic Revitalization best practices by the UN Habitat, Sevilla Global and ITC of the International Labor Organization.
The Guimaras delegation headed by Governor Felipe Nava is in Sevilla, Spain today until April 3, 2009 in order to present its best practice experience.
The local government had been lauded for jumpstarting the island's economy and ensuring its environmental sustainability from the period of January 2005 to December 2007. Its partners and stakeholders are the business sector, students or the youth, religious sector, farmers and non-government organizations.
In 1992, the island was in a dismal economic state but it had potentials for tourism development because of its rural environment and its sandy beaches and coves. Its fertile soil makes it capable of growing high-value crops like mangoes, coconut, cashew and kalamansi.
In 1993, the government partnered with the Canadian Urban Institute (CUI). The latter brought in advisors to the island and bought island officials to Canada to learn about models and best practices in the said country. These practices were applied in Guimaras.
With the aim of making Guimaras as the “agri-tourism capital of the region”, the five municipalities of the province were involved as well as other stakeholders. Instead of competing with each other, the municipalities were engaged in a co-management approach as each has a role to play in the island's development.
They agreed to focus on agri-tourism as their development strategy and this vision guided them in their program implementations. Community-based rural tourism was also promoted as a result. So, apart from the island's natural resources, its local culture, traditions and way of life had become tourist attractions, too.
In order to protect the environment amid development, the government passed the Environment Code prior to the enactment of an Investment Code.
Guimaras now enjoys a rise in tourism arrivals and increased investment in the tourism industry.
Nava expects that by attending the Seville seminar, the local government will gain new perspective in governance and establish networks for possible collaboration with other participants.
Guimaras envisions that its agri-tourism thrust be brought to a global scale.