Cebu maps out tourism value chain

The Department of Trade and Industry-Cebu Provincial Office (DTI-Cebu) and the Department of Tourism Central Visayas (DoT) 7 is set to join forces in mapping out a more comprehensive tourism value chain in a move to maximize tourism in Cebu, which is the province's major economic driver.

DTI Cebu Director Nelia Navarro said both agencies will allocate P50,000 to fund the collaboration.

Both agencies are mandated by the present administration to form an alliance working closely to boost several industries in Cebu through tourism, she said.

Initially, Navarro said the two agencies may use the existing study made by the DoT that showed some suggestions on how to take advantage of tourism to boost small industries and residents in tourist attractions.

DTI-7 Director Asteria Caberte said that in the regional scope, the partnership will also make use of its own trade and tourism value chain through the help of the German Technical Cooperation — Small and Medium Enterprise Development for Sustainable Employment Program (GTZ-SMEDSEP).

“The value-chain roadmap will identify the trail of tourism destinations in these regions at the same time discover the best products that will be sold to tourists in each destination,” Caberte said.

The initial plan for the tourism-value chain is to encourage the establishment of “souvenir shopping malls” in growth centers to serve as the major venue for souvenir products in the region.

“Tourism is the big market left untapped by our producers especially in the countryside areas,” Caberte said.

According to Caberte, this initiative will pave the way for a tremendous growth of the souvenir industry sector, and would encourage countryside residents to start off a promising souvenir business.

Part of the roadmap is also to provide training for rural folks on how to maximize tourism as a market for their local productsb — good packaging, improved quality and product presentation, among others. (Manila Bulletin)




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Development of Dumaguete as top BPO site pushed

The Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Association is intent on promoting Dumaguete City as a prime outsourcing destination in the country.

ICT Council Secretary Danah Fortunato cited Dumaguete City as one of the country's top ten outsourcing locations in 2010 with an overall 74 percent score amongst the list of next wave cities graded.

Meeting recently with local stakeholders, the ICT official said business process outsourcing (BPO) companies here hit the 6,000 mark in terms of workforce last year, which is enough to sustain the local economy and social development in the city.

However, ICT stakeholders may be pushing for Dumaguete to be an IT-BPO destination of choice in the country because of its university town status, but Fortunato has doubts about the city’s power supply reliability.

She said her group plans to discuss with officials of power utility firm how best to address power shortage or reduce brown outs so not to interrupt ICT operations in the city.
However, Provincial Governor Roel Degamo, citing in particular the dismantling of aging power plants, said the power supply problem cannot be linked to Noreco alone, but also to the Energy Development Corporation (EDC) and the National Grid Corpora-tion of the Philippines (NGCP). (Manila Bulletin)

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