Acting on reports that a zip line manufacturer has been approaching municipal LGUs and presenting itself as a tourism consultant and investment partner, the Provincial Tourism Council convened a special meeting last Wednesday at the Chocolate Hills Complex.
With the unprecedented success of Danao’s Extreme Adventure Tour and its main attraction known as the Suislide, zip lines have also been set up in the municipalities of Loboc and Pilar. In Loboc, the attraction complements the Loboc River Tour. A zip line is also being considered in Balilihan as a component of the recently launched Abatan River Community Life Tour, which also includes the municipalities of Cortes, Maribojoc, Antequera, and Catigbian.
Many more towns are reportedly planning to set up the same attraction, at the instigation of the reported zip line manufacturer. Among the towns supposed to have been approached are Carmen, Dimiao, and Guindulman.
On this issue, the PTC immediately resolved for a legislative inquiry on the matter by the Sangguniang Panlalawigan of Bohol to investigate into the identity and motives of the supposed tourism consultant.
Urging care in the direction of tourism developments in the province, the PTC advised municipal LGUs to first consult the provincial government on the installation of such equipment and to avoid direct competition but instead to complement each other’s tourism products.
During the meeting, the council also resolved for the creation of a clearing house to regulate the operation of zip lines and similar devices in the province. The said body would also oversee the safety and maintenance of such equipment.
The meeting was held while the members of the PTC executive committee were having a familiarization tour to evaluate Bohol’s existing tourism sites, especially the province’s Countryside Tour Package, which usually consists of stops at the Sandugo Commemorative Shrine, the Baclayon Church and Museum, the Loboc River Floating Restaurant, and the Chocolate Hills Complex.
The Provincial Tourism Council is composed of tourism stakeholders from the government and business sectors and representation from the media. It is currently headed by retired lawyer Lucas Nunag of Amarela Boutique Resort. Board Member Godofreda Tirol, who heads the SP Committee on Tourism, is the council Vice-Chair from the government sector. Walter Sultan, general manager of Travel Village, is vice chair from the private sector. Board Member Abeleon Damalerio, who heads the SP Committee on Agriculture and is also a member of the SP tourism committee, also sits in the council.
Also discussed during the meeting was a proposal for a seminar for municipal tourism officers and a revisiting of the Provincial Tourism Code.
On its way home, the Council made a stop at the Bohol Biodiversity Complex, where seedlings of endemic trees are being bred for reforestation projects all over the country. Sustainable agriculture technologies are also applied at the complex.
The council members remarked that the biodiversity complex would be an educational addition to the existing tour package. (Paul Joseph J. Vistal/EDCom)
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