Bago City boosts ‘green agritourism’ initiatives

Posted by watchmen
July 29, 2023
Posted in News
Bago City Mayor Nicholas Yulo (2nd from right) and senior tourism operations officer Mae Ann Furtos with award-winning Negrense cacao farmer Christopher Fadriga (left) at the Chris Fadriga Cacao Nursery and Plantation in Barangay Atipuluan on July 21, 2023. Photo courtesy of Bago City Information Office
Bago City Mayor Nicholas Yulo (2nd from right) and senior tourism operations officer Mae Ann Furtos with award-winning Negrense cacao farmer Christopher Fadriga (left) at the Chris Fadriga Cacao Nursery and Plantation in Barangay Atipuluan on July 21, 2023. Photo courtesy of Bago City Information Office

Negros Occidental’s Bago City, which is part of the current global Green Destinations Top 100 Stories list, is highlighting its “green agritourism” initiatives to become a sustainable tourism destination.

As a direction of the city’s tourism industry, “Green” means Global, Regenerative, Empowered, Equitable, and Natural.

“Agritourism and ecotourism are really the priority of our tourism industry,” senior tourism operations officer Mae Ann Furtos said on Thursday, July 27.

Through the “Booming Green Agritourism” program, this city just south of Bacolod is positioning itself as “a global destination that ensures regenerative tourism through empowered tourism stakeholders, equitable resources and opportunities for the different sectors of the community, and natural and sustainable tourism development is an utmost priority of the local government.”

Last week, Mayor Nicholas Yulo led the turnover of farm signage as assistance to farm sites, which are part of the “Booming Green Agritourism” program.

The recipients were the Senoro Green Farms, Chris Fadriga Cacao Nursery and Plantation, Mailum Organic Village Association, and Abner Fish Trading for the production of Bago River Eel.

“We have farms, we have environmental beauty. We are capitalizing on it. We have seen the potential of Bago as an agritourism destination. There’s no need for more infrastructure. With just the improvement and capacity development of our agritourism site owners or the farmers, we already have sites to offer that can be enjoyed by tourists,” Fortus said.

In September last year, Bago City received the award for being part of the Top 100 “Green Destinations” list for 2022, a recognition given by the Netherlands-based Green Destinations Foundation in Athens, Greece.

Green Destinations cited the city’s effective governance, capacity-building programs, and involvement of local stakeholders for the revival of the rich biodiversity of the Bago Watershed.

The “Reviving the Majestic Diversity of Bago Watershed” project also placed third in the Environment and Climate Category of the Green Destinations Story Awards of the Internationale Tourismus-Börse (ITB) held in Berlin, Germany last March. (PNA)

 

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *