The Philippine Department of Tourism’s bureau in the Cordillera Administrative Region (DOT-CAR) expects to see further improvement of village tourism in the north of the country.

DOT-CAR officials made the statement during the launch of the fourth annual Search for the Best Tourism Village on Wednesday, 12th February. 

During the press conference, DOT-CAR regional director Jovi Ganongan declared: “The search encourages villages to opt for sustainability and improve not just the destination but help prepare their fellow villagers for tourists arriving.”

The search began during the pandemic and is a programme unique to the DOT-CAR.

For the 2025 edition, at least 68 tourism villages have applied to join the search, which would allow them to obtain technical assistance to adapt to relevant standards.

It takes a community

Ganongan shared that village leaders who joined the search orientations have started to work on their community’s development to qualify.

She said: “Some did not even know they have tourism values but realized it when they joined the search.”

Ganongan added that the eagerness of the villagers to participate and conform their communities to the criteria that involves cultural, socio-economic and rural economic development, environmental protection and sustainability of the activity as highly palpable.

She said: “This is not just about bringing in tourists but also the community’s development and people’s livelihood and protection of the environment.”

For the environment

Linda Claire Pawid, chief of the Protected Area Management and Biodiversity Conservation Section of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR)-CAR, said the program helps in their goal of protecting the environment with villages learning the importance of implementing activities toward this end.

She said tourism and environment protection is an important aspect of the DOT-CAR’s search for the best tourism villages.

Pawid said Cordillera has unique villages endowed with natural attractions, thus the abundance of village destinations with stories and cultural significance.