Negros Occidental and two local government units (LGUs) in the province, Sipalay City and Don Salvador Benedicto town, bagged the grand winner awards in six categories of the 2024 Pearl Awards, presented by the Department of Tourism and the Association of Tourism Officers of the Philippines (ATOP).
They received the awards during the 25th ATOP National Convention, held at The Farm, Carpenter Hill in Koronadal City, South Cotabato Oct. 10.
At the provincial level, Negros Occidental was awarded the grand winner in Best in Local Event Hosting for the Negros Trade Fair, the country’s longest-running provincial trade fair held in Metro Manila for 38 years now.
It also bagged the champion award in Best in International Event Hosting for the staging of the first Slow Food Terra Madre Visayas in November last year.
For the component city level, Sipalay was named the grand winner in three categories – Best Tourism Month Celebration (17th Sipalay City Tourism Month Celebration), Best Practices for Sustainable Tourism (Lakbayon Women’s Beach Clean-up Volunteer Project), and the highest award for Best Tourism-Oriented LGU (Safe and Sustainable Sipalay).
Supervising tourism officer Jerick Lacson, a national finalist for Most Outstanding Tourism Officer, said these achievements “prove that the vision for Sipalay City to become a model sustainable tourism destination, guided by the Sustainable Gains Development Agenda, is now bearing fruits.”
“The strong commitment to environmental protection and conservation as the core of development has always been our battle cry to build sustainable communities,” he said in a statement Oct. 11.
Don Salvador Benedicto, known as the “summer capital of Negros Occidental,” was the back-to-back grand winner in Best Tourism Promotional Video at the municipal level.
Silay City was also awarded first runner-up for Best in Cultural Festival (“Kansilay Festival: A Celebration of Cultural Heritage and Silaynon Ingenuity”).
The ATOP National Convention, an annual gathering of tourism officers from across the Philippines, aims to promote best practices in tourism management, foster collaboration among LGUs, and enhance the skills of tourism professionals. | PNA
