‘Niyogyugan Festival’ is Calabarzon’s destination of the year

LUCENA CITY — Quezon province’s annual “Niyogyugan Festival” has been named by the Department of Tourism (DOT) as the destination of the year in the Calabarzon (Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal, Quezon) region in 2016.

The DOT cited the festival featuring Quezon’s coconut industry and agricultural products for attracting 6,335,025 tourists in 2016.

It commended the provincial government and the festival for “continuously recording increasing numbers of visitors with its valuable commitment to the creation of more tourism activities [and] improvement of service standards for tourism.”

Gov. David Suarez, who received the trophy on Monday, said tourism was not just about the number of visitors to a place.

“It is about protecting your environment, it is about embracing your past, and lifting your culture and the lifestyle you carry,” the governor said. —Delfin T. Mallari Jr.