Baguio City has been elevated to the “Hall of Fame” in the recently-concluded ASEAN Tourism Forum Standard Awards 2024 at Vientiane, Laos’ Peoples Democratic Republic (PDR).
Three cities and 21 tourism stakeholders from the Philippines have been recognized during the 2024 ASEAN Tourism Standard Awards.
The cities of Baguio, Ilagan in Isabela, and Tabuk in Kalinga were awarded as the ASEAN Clean Tourist City by the Department of Tourism.
City Supervising Tourism Operations Officer Alec Mapalo said “the award seeks to recognize tourist cities that meet the ASEAN standards in the areas of cleanliness, environmental and waste management, preservation of green spaces, health and urban safety and security, and tourism infrastructure and facilities, with the conscious effort to build awareness for environmental protection and cleanliness among local stakeholders and the general public.”
Councilor Lilia Fariñas, chair of the committee on tourism, parks and special events along with Mapalo and CTO staff member Rachel Montoya represented the city during the awarding ceremony.
“The commendation is attributed to the collective effort and contributing programs and projects of the different offices and agencies of the city that are in-charge of the city’s cleanliness, environment, health, sanitation, safety, security, and tourism services. These include cooperation and commitment to sustainable tourism, “stated Mapalo.
This is the third time that Baguio received the award elevating it to the “Hall of Fame”. The periods were 2018-2020, 2020-2022 and 2022-2024. (Photos by Alec Mapalo) – Stella Maria L. de Guia
