Legazpi City learns from Puerto Princesa City’s practices in sustainable and inclusive tourism

USAID’s Strengthening Urban Resilience for Growth with Equity (SURGE) Project organized a learning visit for Legazpi City to Puerto Princesa City on June 18 to 20, 2019, as part of its ongoing technical assistance to finalize Legazpi City’s tourism code. The activity facilitated learning between the two cities revolving around Puerto Princesa’s strategic tourism plan, enabling laws and policies, management of five community-based sustainable tourism destinations, and Legazpi City’s tourism development master plan and processes involved in tourism code formulation. The Legazpi City delegation, led by Councilor Lilian Ramirez, also learned about the enhanced functions and operations of the Puerto Princesa Tourism Office, procedures on registration and accreditation, and learned how to organize and sustain community-based tourism programs. The learnings gained by Legazpi City will be integrated in the draft tourism code which is scheduled for public consultation in August 2019. The tourism code will support the full implementation of the city’s tourism development master plan.