Gastronomy tourism declared new focus area for attracting visitors

THE Department of Tourism (DoT) said on Wednesday that it is seeking to establish the Philippines as a food and gastronomy destination within Southeast Asia.

Tourism Undersecretary Verna C. Buensuceso said at the launch ceremony for the gastronomy tourism roadmap that the program will tout the Philippines’ “culinary diversity and local produce.”

The roadmap includes strategies for creating food-focused tourism experiences to increase awareness of and recognition for Filipino food.

Tourism Secretary Ma. Esperanza Christina Garcia Frasco said the launch marks gastronomy tourism’s formal incorporation in the National Tourism Development Plan (NTDP).

“For the first time, gastronomy has been formally incorporated in the NTDP, not as an afterthought, but as a central pillar of our tourism strategy,” she said.

“It is not a top-down plan; it is a bottom-up strategy created in partnership with the people who know our food best,” she added.

In parallel, the DoT also launched its Market Tourism Product Development Program, which aims to transform public markets into destinations.

“Our markets are not merely venues for commerce and trade; they are our cultural landmarks. In Baguio, our pilot program has proven how a public market can become both a heritage site and an economic engine, and now we are ready to take this nationwide,” Ms. Frasco said. 

She said market tourism as a sub-product of gastronomy tourism took in ideas and contributions of culinary tourism advocates and the academic community.

“We will have market tours, and various places will now have an opportunity to become tourism destinations. We will give out handbooks to our local government units, which will serve as a guide on how to develop their markets into tourism circuits,” she said. — Justine Irish D. Tabile