CITY OF SAN FERNANDO, Pampanga – The Department of Tourism (DOT) is striving to balance tourism development with environmental preservation in Central Luzon.
During the third episode of the Kapihan sa Bagong Pilipinas of the Philippine Information Agency for 2025, DOT Regional Director Richard Daenos highlighted the agency’s role as chair of the Regional Ecotourism Committee, which oversees the preservation of natural assets in the region.
“To date, we already had some sort of evaluation for our ecotourism sites like Minalungao National Park, Biak-na-Bato National Park, Pantabangan-Carranglan Watershed Forest Reserve, and Talavera Watershed Forest Reserve. So, in the next coming meetings, we’re going to check other ecotourism sites as well,” he shared.
To ensure that tourism development does not compromise environmental conservation, Daenos emphasized the significance of the Regional Tourism Development Plan (RTDP) and Local Tourism Development Plan (LTDP).
“Since Mother Nature has given us so much–the bounty of the creation for us to enjoy–it is the RTDP and LTDP where they’re going to define the concept of sustainability,” he said.
These plans, he explained, outline strategies for conserving natural assets while also maintaining or safeguarding intangible heritage, which may be part of the local tourism experience.
Daenos also stressed the need to address challenges such as tourist influx and the proliferation of unaccredited establishments that may not meet quality standards.
With this, Daenos noted that the LTDP includes programs and policy recommendations to prevent the exploitation of natural resources.
These may include seasonal closures of ecotourism sites to allow nature to recover.
“Actually, it’s no longer called sustainable tourism but regenerative tourism—being able to get back to where it was, hopefully. And that could only be done when we do careful planning backed up with, of course, the ordinances we will create,” he explained.
Since 2024, the DOT has chaired the Regional Ecotourism Committee in partnership with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources. The agency will hold this position for a three-year term. (CLJD/MAECR, PIA Region 3-Pampanga)