T RULY, to enjoy your vacation you have to enjoy the crowd, the cul- ture of the people and of course, the foods in the area you are visiting. “That is how community-based rural tourism should be,” says former tourism secretary and Subic-based International School of Sustainable Tourism (ISST) chair- person Mina Gabor. Gabor, in collaboration with the Asian Productivity Organization (APO), the Devel- opment Academy of the Philippines (DAP), and the Department of Tourism, recently or- ganized the three-day National Conference on Planning and Developing Community- Based Rural Tourism held at the Subic Bay Exhibition and Convention Center (SBECC). Gabor said the conference aimed to en- hance the knowledge of local tourism stake- holders on the concept of rural tourism as a strategy to create economic opportunities in the rural areas. Gabor said the conference identified how to promote and encourage local community support through community-based rural tourism (CBRT) which could be a big boost to local economies. The conference also showcased assort- ment of local food delicacies from different provinces like Morcon and Sisig Pampanga, Lumpia Bacolod and Inasal na Manok, Bag- net Ilocus, Barbacoa and Humba of Visayas and a lot more delectable Filipino food which tourists would surely enjoy. Gabor narrated that in 2007, an icon in information technology took his backpack and went to his home in South Africa and immersed himself in the community, danc- ing and eating with the people. On his return to America he said, “This is the way tourism should be developed to enjoy your travel in different countries.” The man, Gabor continued, was Microsoft founder Bill Gates. During the conference, Tourism Secre- tary Alberto Lim vowed to give more atten- tion to rural tourist destinations, as local ex- ecutives and tourism stakeholders around the country conveyed their support to the government’s program on community- based tourism particularly in rural areas. Addressing more than 600 governors, mayors and local tourism officers Lim said that President Benigno Aquino III is put- ting tourism on top of his agenda because of the potential of the industry to help re- duce poverty. “We are going to build a lot of emphasis on product development in the rural areas where poverty is in the highest (levels),” Lim said. Lim said that over the years, the DoT has granted some P55 million to about 123 rural communities to help develop and im- prove indigenous tourism products and fa- cilities, as well as for trainings on tour and trek guiding, native craft making, and local food catering. The fund was granted through the Grassroots Entrepreneurs Employment and Tourism (GREET) program, which aims to generate employment and livelihood with balanced ecology and environmental pro- tection to promote eco-tourism sites and develop tourism at the community level. Based on the report of the National Statistics Office, Lim said that although the tourism in- dustry ranks number four as foreign exchange earner, it is now number one in creating jobs. “These jobs are jobs in the rural areas, where most of our most beautiful attrac- tions can be found,” Lim added. www.newscentralsite.com FEBRUARY 2011 Subic Central Central News Special Supplement Subic Central ARREZA: ‘A CULTURE OF HONESTY AND EFFICIENCY FOR SUBIC’ Subic confab bares taste of rural tourism Former tourism secretary and Subic-based International School of Sustainable Tourism chairperson Mina Gabor