With the last week of September designated as Tourism Week, the Provincial Tourism and Culture Office (PTCO), led by Acting Provincial Tourism and Culture Officer Marichelle O. Costales, spearheads a month-long celebration, kicking it off on September 2, 2025, with the Camia Planting activity conducted in the morning and a Seminar on Tourism Governance in the afternoon.
The activity was conducted in collaboration with Nueva Vizcaya Provincial Jail, Bureau of Fire Protection, Nueva Vizcaya State University, and Order of the Amaranth – Sierra Madre Court. Representatives from each partner joined the PTCO in planting camia flowers in Ammungan Park and the Provincial Jail. The PTCO also took the time to recognize each of their partners with certificates.
The afternoon’s Seminar on Tourism Governance was attended by the tourism and hospitality students of the PGNV’s higher academic institution partners, namely Nueva Vizcaya State University (NVSU), Bayombong and Bambang Campuses, Saint Mary’s University (SMU), Aldersgate College (AC), and PLT College, Inc. The tourism officers from each municipality also joined to glean knowledge from lectures on such topics as the best practices of tourist destinations in the province and the qualities of a tourism champion.
Two of the guest speakers for the seminar were Ms. Mitos O. Wales, Tourism Officer for Kayapa, whose municipality’s King of the Mountain Trail had garnered the 2nd Runner Up for Best Sports Tourism Award at the Association of Tourism Officers of the Philippines (ATOP)-Pearl Awards, and Mr. Nuepe Manuel Jr., Tourism Officer for Ambaguio, whose municipality’s Ambaguio Skyport gained 1st Place at the Department of Tourism – Tourism Champions Challenge (DOT-TCC). Similarly, other tourism officers from both municipal and provincial level also testified on their brochures gaining the top prizes from the ATOP-Pearl Awards.
After the lectures, an open forum was conducted, through which the panelists entertained questions on such topics as motivation, their stances on province-wide issues, and advice on joining the ATOP-Pearl Awards. Each panelist gave comprehensive and rounded answers to the inquiries coming from municipal tourism officer and college student alike.
The Tourism Month celebration for the province shows promise for success and fulfilment of its purpose. With the theme of ‘Tourism and Sustainable Transformation’, and a roster of events that included community and youth culture, Tourism Month in the province may carry forward the mandates of the current government toward youth development and sustainable economic and cultural growth. /igmb
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