LGU-Kalibo snares ‘best booth’ honor in Philippine travel mart

By Jing Cawaling

KALIBO, Aklan: Consistent with the dynamic drive to transform Kalibo as a major tourist destination and the aspiration to become the first city in the province of Aklan, the town took home the crown as the best booth in the cities and municipalities category of the 35th Philippine Travel Mart held at the SMX Convention Center in Pasay City.

The prestigious annual event. which carried the engaging slogan ‘Boosting Nextgen Tourism,’ is being spearheaded by the Philippine Tour Operators Association (PHILTOA).

In a terse statement, Kalibo mayor Juris B. Sucro was doubly grateful to the municipal tourism office (MTO) and other local functionaries for going beyond expectations and performing so well that even other cities and towns represented in the exhibition were impressed at the way the both was designed to reflect the tourism potentials of the municipality.

Sucro, more inspired than ever with the gains his administration has achieved in promoting the town as a tourism and investment destination, said “the journey to becoming a significant tourism address and the heart of investment in the province given its potentials”

Kalibo strong potentials to become the next most important tourism destination of Aklan beyond its present identity as the gateway to Boracay. Some of the main reasons and opportunities include cultural tourism ecotourism, wellness and slow tourism, and events and creative tourism, among others.

Kalibo’s potentials, pundits concede, lie in cultural heritage, eco-tourism, agro-tourism, and creative industries. If properly marketed and supported by bearable infrastructure, it can grow from being just a Boracay gateway into a stand-alone terminus, showcasing Aklan’s rich identity.

The annual event was graced by Tourism Secretary Christina Garcia Frasco, who reiterated her office’s commitment to firm up the tourism industry through strategic reforms, infrastructure upgrades, and closer partnerships with the private sector. In her message, she highlighted the worth of teamwork, stating that tourism is not just about leisure but also about nation-building.