The Nayong Pilipino Foundation (NPF) is training some 50 tourism ambassadors from the Davao Region in preparation for the official launch of the “Philippine Experience” project in the area later this month.

The “Philippine Experience” is the new promotional project of the Department of Tourism (DOT) that heralds the country’s rich heritage, arts, and culture through a series of caravans this year.

It involves the development of caravans featuring culture, heritage, and arts unique to each region.

The tourism ambassadors, composed of tourism officers, guides, and planners, will train from June 6-8 for leadership roles in cultural heritage protection and sustainable tourism.

Through the training, NPF executive director Gertie Duran-Batocabe hopes to increase the appreciation of Filipino culture among locals and foreigners alike.

“Our goal is to train tourism ambassadors to be more appreciative of their culture. An example of this is our tour guides, they only focus on what they see, but this time, they will also focus on the identity – the cultural heritage,” Batocabe said in an interview.

One of NPF’s flagship programs, the Cultural Leadership Institute (CLI) Intensive Course, was developed in 2019 to produce cultural leaders who shall be at the forefront of Philippine cultural heritage protection, promotion, and development.

“Cultural heritage is very important and President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. wants us to have a Filipino branding service excellence that he wanted to spread throughout the country,” Batocabe explained.

Noel Daquioag, the Davao del Norte provincial tourism officer participating in the training, said the CLI has a great impact in guiding them on how to promote not only tourism but culture as well.

“In the Philippine brand of service, culture must be on top. With this course, we will be able to institutionalize culture and tourism,” he said in a separate interview. (PNA)