The Top 100 Green Destinations Stories highlighted Bago City, Negros Occidental, Philippines as one of its candidates for sustainable development. They announced it on October 15 during their unveiling ceremony.
Agritourism: Cultivating a Sustainable Future for Bago City
“This 2024, our story tells about how introducing climate positive tourism helped Bago City’s economic recovery and community empowerment,” said the Bago City Tourism Affairs Office as they launched the program named, “Booming GREEN AGritOurism (BAGO).”
The aim of the program is to help farms reach their potentials and promote effective tourism by targeting actions for the planet, people, and prosperity.
Senior Tourism Operations Officer Mae Ann Furtos shared, “As introduced in 2018, our agritourism programs shifted the focus to sustainable, climate-responsive development, leveraging the city’s rural landscape, agroecological biodiversity, and rich farming culture.”
As part of the program, the city will be having Booming GREEN “Farm Tours,” Booming GREEN “Farmers Weekend Market,” and Booming GREEN “Gastronomy Tourism.”
“Alongside our Green Destinations journey is the big support of our agritourism communities and stakeholders- our farmers, our local tourism producers, our culinary community, our city government offices, and the mentorship of Madame Susan de Cárdenas, who all sustained us in this Top 100 competition.”
Giving credit where it’s due, Furtos added, “Our gratitude to everyone who is a part of this recognition. We continue to stride in the GREEN which means Global, Regenerative, Empowered, Equitable, Natural direction for local tourism.“
