Samar province marks 174th founding day

CATBALOGAN CITY, Aug. 12 (PNA) - Samar province celebrated its foundation day on Thursday renewing its commitment to develop the local tourism industry.

Department of Tourism Regional Director Karina Rosa Tiopes, representing DOT Undersecretary Alma Rita Jimenez, graced the occasion.

In her speech, Tiopes urged the people in Samar province to be visionary in promoting tourism potentials of their province by taking advantage of the opportunity presented by modern technology.

Samar provincial government launched last year the Spark Samar, resulting in increase in tourist arrival.

The first Spark Samar campaign focused on tourist-ready towns of Marabut, Basey, Sta Rita and Paranas, offering various water adventure activities and historical sites.

“Tourists nowadays are looking for destinations that are raw, tourism product that are unique and experiences that are authentic. I believe that Samar offers all of these,” Tiopes said.

“To make Samar tourism as the medium of narrowing the development device we all have to collaborate and synergize, you need to look beyond your territorial boundaries and compliment, converge new resources that will have a an advantage with those of your neighboring towns, cities and provinces.”

The tourism official stressed that promoting tourism is not an easy task, a reason why people of Samar should consider new approaches to ensure that the Spark Samar campaign be more successful.

In the second league of Spark Samar promotion, which they will soon launch, Samar Governor Sharee Ann Tan said they would focus on capacitating people’s organization as leaders of tourism promotion.

People’s organization will no longer rely on tour guiding activities as their source of income, but will also trained in food preparation and souvenir making that will give them more income, according to Tan.

She added that they also tied up with the Philippine Army’s 52nd Infantry Battalion in Sta. Rita town in the production of organic vegetables and livestock as part of their tourism development promotion.

Tan has called on local government units (LGUs) to start preparing their local tourism development plan to guide the provincial government in extending assistance.

“We will only help LGUs who are willing to be assisted because we don’t want to waste our time in areas that are not supportive to the programs of the province,” Gov Tan said.

Samar Day was initially celebrated on Nov. 10, marking the day that Samar Island was established as a province. During the Marcos era, the date of the celebration was changed to Aug. 23.

The date was changed again when it was moved to Aug. 11 in the late 1970s to honor the day when Queen Isabella II of Spain signed a Royal Decree declaring Samar as a separate province from Leyte. (PNA)

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