Local Travel Ambassadors to Boost Tourism Industry in Zamboanga Peninsula

As it becomes harder to travel from different places and visit new destination spots because of pandemic, the Department of Tourism Region 9 engages with local influencers from different cities and provinces to market the tourism industry in Zamboanga Peninsula.

Everyone has the potential to serve and become a tourism ambassador of their community. But the mere fact that it’s pandemic, fresh contents are way harder to create along with sharing tourism safety protocols because of the unpredictable changes of some rules.

Honestly, it is a big responsibility to consider.

Of course, I know my job as a travel blogger involves a lot more than just posting inspirational photos and telling tales of fun in the sun but it’s more of adding unique value for explorers, road-weary business travelers and everyone in between. What I love more about it is that my experience shapes the potential visitors of their first impressions about the place with a hope that my story would influence them on their future travel adventure.

Thankfully, the DOT-9 created a program to tap some of the locals with wider influence to become their travel ambassadors. This program has a lot of touchpoints to engage with and I am beyond excited to be really doing this with the Department of Tourism Region 9 and with people who do the same passion as me.

About the Campaign

Earlier this year 2021 as announced by the Department of Tourism Region 9 Zamboanga Peninsula “Eight (8) local influencers were tapped by the department in the first ever tourism campaign project. Each month, the local influencers will also acts as local tourism ambassadors will be publishing exciting contents, fresh information of tourism products launched or opened in their areas, communicate innovations on tourism safety protocols, sharing best practices of tourism enterprises and attractions, moreover, promoting new normal ready destinations in Zamboanga Peninsula.

I have then become part of this project halfway of the year together with the amazing people from Zamboanga del Norte and my good friends, Francis Muleta, photographer and the writer behind Lakwachaps and Sir Armand Frasco, a content developer and founder of a society and culture website Ambibo.ph.

“The approach is designed to activate local tourism consumption with primary strategies on communicating the readiness of the attractions through adherence of the public health standards and health and safety guidelines developed by the Department of Tourism last May 2020.”

My Thoughts about this campaign

When the recent study of Department of Tourism shows that the domestic travel in the Philippines will be the first to recover even though it has been badly hit by the pandemic, no doubt I believed that it would. That’s why when I was approached to do this project, I said yes.

It has inspired me to take advantage of telling travel stories by focusing on what makes a destination uniquely valuable to my audience. So that when it does recover, people have something to look forward to when they make future travel plans.

One of my most favorite thing about this program is supporting the #SaveOurSpots campaign where it features activities that promotes responsible travel to natural areas that conserves the environment and improves the welfare of local people such as camping (which I super love), hiking, birdwatching, photography, stargazing, and a lot more.

Knowing that Zamboanga Peninsula houses majestic waterfalls, pristine beaches, crystal clear oceans, gastronomic food everywhere, and lovable communities, it’s not surprising to me at all that this first ever campaign of DOT-9 with local influencers will surely help to reconnect the market back to the tourism industry. Yes, we’re manifesting that!

The campaign excites me most because when I started to focus in doing travel contents, it has slowly changed my perspective as a local traveler as well. I have become more interested in discovering what’s out there and share it to the community.

I have fallen more in love with nature and now eager to pursue responsible tourism in my home province. My vision has grown into becoming an instrument in sharing real-life travel stories to people and inspired them to be a responsible traveler while giving out detailed information on how to get to a specific destination, things to do, what to eat, where to stay, and travel must-knows.

And I am happy that I am collaborating with Department of Tourism Region 9 to finally make it happen.

Be part of this campaign with Us

Region 9 has a lot to offer and I have only explored a small percentage of it. Let’s start rebuilding the confidence of the tourists to visit Zamboanga Peninsula. No matter where you are in the region, here’s how you can help to boost the tourism industry in your respective communities.

Impress others to stay responsible and help #Saveourspots as much as you impress them with your travel photos

How to become a responsible traveler?

• Leave no trace. Take nothing but pictures and memories.
• Become a temporary local. Staying for several nights and be one with the local is a wonderful way to experience a place more.
• Always be kind to the people around you by bringing along an open attitude.

Support local to give back.

Local businesses are more invested in the well-being of a community and its future. It helps build the local economy and industry. How to support local? It’s easy!

• Buy their goods and services. As much as possible don’t ask for discounts!
• Post photos and leave reviews. It’ll not cost you much.
• Share their content to everyone you know.
• Follow, like, comment on their social media pages.

They say that when you buy from a small local business, an actual person does a little happy dance! 🙂 Let’s make them dance.

Practice safety at most times. DO your research about the new normal protocol and be guided accordingly.

With the ever growing digital access, it’s easy to search about things that we’d like to know online.

Use internet as your tool to learn and be knowledgeable about what’s happening around you. The pandemic has changed the tourism industry. More travel restrictions were imposed and every department in the government has already been taking their part in informing us on what to do. Now it’s on us on how to take these information! Please avoid fake news.

Follow official pages like the Department of Tourism Region 9 – Zamboanga Peninsula.