DOT’s sustainable tourism ad gets UN World Tourism Organization citation

World – famous Boracay Island in Aklan (Photo courtesy of Jack Jarilla)

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Tourism’s (DOT) sustainable tourism advertisement drive earned a citation from the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO).

Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat announced that the DOT’s “Have A Safe Trip, Pinas” was lauded as one of the Exceptional Stories of Sustainable Tourism in the 2021 UNWTO Tourism Video Competition.

The ad, launched in 2020, showcases how traveling amid the COVID-19 pandemic can be safe and fun while emphasizing tourism’s benefits to the community.

It featured pandemic-affected workers from Boracay Island, the first tourist destination in the country to open since the pandemic.

 “For the second time this year, the Philippines emerged as winner in a competition organized by the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO),” the agency said in a statement Saturday.

“We are proud that the video produced by the Department made it to this prestigious competition. More importantly, we were able to show how tourism provides jobs and livelihoods while conveying our message of travelling safely,” Puyat said.

The video entries were judged based on two categories: “Tourism and the Decade of Action” and “Exceptional Stories of Sustainable Tourism.”

The “Tourism and the Decade of Action” presents “how the tourism sector is advancing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development through references to one or several of the 17 Global Goal.”

Meanwhile, “Exceptional Stories of Sustainable Tourism shows remarkable examples that showcase the human face of tourism and make clear the positive social impact the sector can have through generating opportunities for all.”

Last week, Barangay Bojo in Aloguinsan, Cebu won the Best Tourism Village Award.

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