President Marcos is joined by UN Tourism Secretary General Zurab Pololikashvili, Tourism Secretary Christina Frasco and Cebu Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia at the opening ceremony of the 36th Joint Meeting of the United Nations Tourism Commission for East Asia and the Pacific and the UN Tourism Commission for South Asia in Cebu City yesterday.
Marcos also called on tourism agencies across the Asia-Pacific region to promote “green tourism” through employing sustainable practices. “For what good will any tourism effort be if it ends up destroying the local culture and ecology?” he also said. Cebu also hosted the UN Tourism’s First Gastronomy Tourism Forum for Asia and the Pacific, wherein the delegates discussed ways on preserving food – particularly local dishes and delicacies, as well as the culture and history behind them – as an important aspect of tourism promotion.