The province of Nueva Ecija is setting its sights on becoming a farm tourism destination.

Nueva Ecija provincial tourism officer Jose Maria Caesar San Pedro said on Tuesday that the provincial board council has approved the request of Governor Aurelio Umali to enter into a partnership with the University of Philippines (UP) for the drafting of a comprehensive tourism development framework plan that would develop the province known as “Rice Granary of the Philippines”.

San Pedro cited the importance of the partnership to boost the tourism potential of the province.

“Itong partnership na ito with UP will strengthen that plan, that direction, dahil yung kanila pong technical expertise and developing and supporting documents para po marami tayong data magagamit para lalong mapaganda yung plano kasi importante dito yung marketing and promotional aspect nung mga plans (This partnership with UP will strengthen that plan, that direction because their technical expertise and developing and supporting documents so that we have more data that can be used to enhance our plans),” he said in a radio interview.

San Pedro also underscored the need for collaborative efforts from the different tourism offices in the local government units (LGUs) and other tourism stakeholders including owners of hotels, resorts, restaurants and operators of travel agencies and tourism farms.

He said a series of consultations and meetings will be conducted to get suggestions and comments from the tourism stakeholders.

“Kailangan natin alamin ang potensyal ng mga LGUs, ang mga infrastructures na makatutulong sa lumalagong industriya ang tourism at tukuyin ang mga programa at proyektong kailangan gawin upang masiguro ang pag-unlad ng turismo (We need to determine the potential of the LGUs, the infrastructure that could help the booming tourism industry and determine the programs and projects needed to ensure the development of tourism),” he said.

San Pedro said there are farm tourism sites in the province that are being developed, including a farm village project in Palayan City.

“Malaking ang maitutulong nito sa mga Novo Ecijano na pangunahing umaasa sa turismo bilang hanapbuhay (This will be a big help to the Novo Ecijanos who primarily depend on tourism as source of livelihood),” he added.

San Pedro said the reported day tourist arrivals in the province from January to September this year reached 1.7 million, which are higher than the 1.2 million during the same period last year. (PNA)