The Department of Tourism (DOT) is studying the birdwatching tourist strategy of Kaohsiung, a southern city in Taiwan, to create a comparable niche product for the Ilocos Region.
Birdwatching is one of the emerging niche products that DOT Region 1 (Ilocos) Director Jeff Ortega is eager to further strengthen, particularly in the provinces of Pangasinan and Ilocos Norte.
This is also seen to "decentralize" tourism activities in already popular destinations and draw attention to lesser-known sites in the region.
Emulating Kaohsiung
Ortega reiterated Kaohsiung's success as they work on a blueprint for Ilocos to go the same path.
“That’s the goal (to model it from Kaohsiung) and that’s part of our tourism development plan for birdwatching,” Ortega said.
“When you go to (Kaohsiung in) Taiwan, grabe ang birdwatching nila (their birdwatching there is great), it’s so small yet so green. What they did is they built wooden decks around the greenery,” he added in an interview.
The Department of Environment and Natural Resources in Ilocos and DOT Region 1 are actively collaborating to find prospective locations for birding routes.
Exploring other ventures
Ortega stated that in addition to birding, the DOT is researching the region's potential for bike, diving, and cruise tourism.
Fe Abling-Yu, a member of the PHILTOA Board of Trustees, acknowledged that the developing tourism attractions in the Ilocos Region had the ability to draw not just foreign visitors but also domestic tourists and Filipinos who have returned from abroad.
According to Ortega, the DOT has deemed the Kalbario-Patapat Natural Park in Pagudpud; the towns of Bani, Bolinao, and Lingayen in Pangasinan; and the towns of Agoo, Bauang, San Fernando, and San Gabriel in La Union as only towns "ready" for birdwatching.
