DAVAO CITY — The City Tourism Office on Wednesday vowed to stage a grander and much-improved Kadayawan Festival next year after the city bagged the third prize for Best Tourism Event (city category) recently.
“We just have to be better than the previous Kadayawan,” said City Tourism Officer Regina Rosa Tecson, who attributed the recognition the city received from the Pearl Awards in Cagayan de Oro City on October 5.
“I feel that we were one of the winners because we had a good presentation on balancing culture side as well as the festival side, the security during the event, and the strong partnership of the local government and the private sector,” Tecson said.
Tecson said Davao City competed against 15 other cities for the best tourism event festival category, which was topped by Bakood Festival of Bacoor City in Cavite, and Fiesta Republica of Malolos, Bulacan.
“The awarding body considered the sustainability of the activity, their integration with our culture and the direction of the festival,” she said.
It was the first time for Davao City to enter the competition since the Pearl Awards was founded in 2005.
The Pearl Award is given by the Association of Tourism Officers of the Philippines (ATOP) and the Department of Tourism.
The ATOP Pearl Awards is aimed to celebrate the best of the Philippine tourism industry. It has six major categories — Best Tourism Event, Best Tourism-Oriented LGU, Best Tourism Month/Week Celebration, Most Outstanding Tourism Officer and Most Outstanding Tourism Council/Club/Organization/Association and Best Practices in Responsible Tourism. (Jecia Anne Opiana/PNA)
