PH to host international farm tourism summit

“We want to learn from other countries as they want to learn from us,” she said, adding the event will also prepare local delegates, particularly farm tour operators in opening their businesses to the international market.
(ShutterStock photo)

MANILA— As one of the leading Southeast Asian countries promoting farm tourism, the Philippines will be hosting the Global Farm Tourism Summit on July 17 in Tagaytay City.

Dr. Mina Gabor, former Tourism chief and now president of the International School of Sustainable Tourism (ISST), said the international event will gather other states engaged in farm tourism and learn from each other’s best practices.

“We want to learn from other countries as they want to learn from us,” she said, adding the event will also prepare local delegates, particularly farm tour operators in opening their businesses to the international market.

“So far we’ve only done local and national so all the problems and solutions are local but once you’ve had it, you need to open it to international market. This will open up the view of our local farm owners.”

Vietnam and New Zealand confirmed their participation in the summit. Local farmers together with a number of local government units are also participating.

Gabor described as promising the future of farm tourism in the Philippines, known to be an agricultural country.

Instilling Filipino farmers the idea of tourism combined with agriculture does not only boost chances of spurring their economic status but also of the entire community, she added.

“If you have a successful farm tourism here, you cannot just be an island yourself,” she said. “In farm tourism, the radius of community involvement gets larger and larger.”

The conference, with the theme “Managing Climate Risks through Sustainable Farm Tourism,” will discuss also smart farming to teach delegates how they can protect farms from the threats climate change poses.

It also seeks to create a directory of farm tourism establishments and sites for network building.

The three-day summit will run from July 17 to 19 at the Summer Ridge Hotel in Tagaytay.