The National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) is offering to paint all commercial sites in the city proper district to entice more tourists and improve heritage tourism.

“This will be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that is offered for Iloilo City. And I am grateful that I am the sitting mayor when this is offered,” Mayor Raisa Treñas said in a media interview on Monday.

She said representatives from NCCA will arrive on July 13 to work on the memorandum of agreement with the city government.

The computation of the surface area of buildings to be painted is ongoing to determine the volume of paint needed for the initiative, she added.

Treñas is also calling on willing architects and engineers in the city to help in the assessment.

She also cited the need for programs like a night market to bring in more tourists to improve heritage tourism.

The long stretch of JM Basa Street, also known as Calle Real, is a heritage zone because of its well-preserved heritage buildings.

“This will make sure that our city proper will bring in more tourists. I wanted to bring in more tourists, to plan programs for the city proper area because our goal is to revive this (heritage tourism),” she said. (PNA)