Negros Oriental gives business group P2M for tourism projects

DUMAGUETE CITY, Philippines  — The Negros Oriental provincial government, headed by Governor Roel Degamo, had released P2 million to the Negros Oriental Chamber of Commerce and Industry (NOCCI) for tourism and marketing promotions of the province.

NOCCI president Edward Du received the check Thursday from Provincial Tourism Officer Myla Mae Bromo-Abellana for the project, under the public-private partnership.

Du said that, in December 2014, the provincial government and the NOCCI signed a memorandum of agreement for the latter to undertake tourism promotion projects.

It took longer than expected though for the project to take off, apparently because the provincial government had to look for source of funds for it, Du explained.

The MOA stipulates that NOCCI shall implement these projects, with corresponding budgetary allocations, within a period of one year from receipt of the funding, he said.

The biggest outlay for a project is P1 million for tourism promotion, through a lifestyle cable television that will broadcast 24 hours a day, seven days a week to 118 major cities and towns, servicing ten airports and 11 seaports nationwide.

Other projects and their corresponding budgets are: promotional video featuring the province’s tourism destinations, with P300,000 outlay; development of a tourism website for two years unlimited web hosting and maintenance (P150,000);

Tourism promotion via a broadcast content provider with a 24/7 Asian travel and lifestyle channel—featuring the best of Asian destinations, culture and heritage, among others—that will produce a one-hour Negros Oriental TV feature, to be aired for at least a year over the said channel (P280,000);

Tourism promotion through a longest running travel show dedicated mostly to domestic travel and Philippine culture (P130,000); and, to invite bloggers and travel bloggers to come to Negros Oriental to experience the various tourism sites/tourism activities to be featured in major newspapers, magazines and the web.  (FREEMAN)