Eastern Visayas LGUs bag Pearl Awards
Samar Vice Governor Stephen James Tan holds the Pearl 2017 trophy. With him is DOT regional director Karina Rosa Tiopes and provincial board members.
MANILA, Philippines — The province of Samar and the municipality of Palompon in Leyte, all from the Eastern Visayas region, bagged two Pearl Awards during the 12th Department of Tourism (DOT) and Association of Tourism Officers in the Philippines conference held in Iloilo City last week.
Palompon, Leyte was the grand winner of the best sports tourism event category with its “Abre Grande-Lawig Tourism Sports Festival,” the grand opening of the town’s socio-cultural activities marked by kayak races, color runs, triathlons, etc. related to its feast day of St. Francis.
Palompon is a Pearl Hall of Famer for winning the “Best Tourism Oriented LGU-Municipality level” three years in a row.
Cleofe Rivera, Palompon tourism officer, received the award on behalf of the municipal officials.
On the other hand, the province of Samar was named 1st runner up for the Best Tourism Oriented LGU – Provincial Level for its “Spark Samar” program. Champion in this category was the province of Davao del Norte.
Spark Samar, which started as a tourism program, has now evolved into being the flagship program of Gov. Sharee Ann Tan, intertwining the value chain of tourism to pursue development efforts in the province.
