Amakusa City in Japan is forging a tourism exchange program with Negros Occidental in the Philippines.
The Amakusa Tourism Promotion Team visited Negros Occidental to meet with the provincial officials to explore a tourism business exchange.
The Japanese team presented the tourism offerings of Amakusa City in the center of Kyushu, southwest of Kumamoto including Sakitsu Village, home to early Christian culture in Japan and one of the “Hidden Christian Sites” in the Nagasaki Region.
“These are on top of other tourism offerings — from food to a variety of natural attractions and views,” Sakie Urakami-Saito of the National Licensed English-Speaking Guide in Japan said on behalf of the Amakusa team.
The Negros Occidental Tourism Division reported that the 10-member delegation from Amakusa who visited Negros Occidental on September 26 was composed of officials from Amakusa Tourism Promotion Division, Amakusa Airline, Amakusa Takarajima Tourism Association, Amakusa Hondo Ryokan and Hotel Association, Amakusa City Industrial Policy Division, and a representative from their National Licensed English-Speaking Guide organization.
The Amakusa team met with Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson, 8 tour operators from Negros Occidental, L.Nature, Inc., Ikaw-Ako Foundation, Provincial Planning, and Development Coordinator Marlin Sanogal, Negros Occidental Scholarship Division head Karen Dinsay, Economic Enterprise Development Department head Lucille Gelvolea, and provincial supervising tourism operations officer Cristine Mansinares.
After the meeting, the Amakusa team explored some Negros Occidental farms and local food.
Negros Occidental through the Department of Tourism-Region VI recently joined Kain Na! Food & Travel Festival at Ayala Malls Manila Bay from September 27-29, 2019. The province also recently concluded three sessions of Filipino Brand of Service (FBS) Excellence Training under the Tourism Industry Skills Program (TISP) 2019.
Negros Occidental is known for delicacies such as the CNN Travel-recommended Pitaw rice field birds. A Negros school has also earned recent attention for environmental-friendly innovations in dining using bamboo mugs and coconut bowls. Its Rondalla music group also gained international acclaim.
The Department of Tourism has reported that Japan is the Top 4 source market for foreign travelers to the Philippines.
SEND well wishes in the comments below to Negros Occidental and Amakusa City tourism teams for the planned tourism business exchange program!
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