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Spreading the Technology
Ecotourism organizations devise plans and announce new projects in
workshops for local members. These seminars allow for the analysis of
opportunities and threats and set directions and strategies that would
help their campaign. The process helps identify needs and address
them at the provincial level, then incorporate them in the Bohol Tourism
Office program. Documentation of these meetings enable future leaders
to continue the flow or make changes in operation.
The BTO coordinates, facilitates and provides technical assistance
to interested parties. It also assists in the marketing and promotion of
tour packages and conducts, monitors and evaluates activities, and
identifies the ecotour’s needs. The office is currently working on
guidelines for tourism and aims to produce a framework from which
codes and ordinances can be sourced. Local ordinances declaring
tourism zones and marine sanctuaries have been put into place in several
Bohol municipalities.
It is worth noting that combining ecotourism and agro-industrial
development has proven to be a potent strategy: To utilize its rich
ecological-cultural capital and turn the province into a competitive ecotourism
destination and to invest in the productive capacity of its people
to turn the province into an agro-industrial hub. The combination of these
two objectives, has resulted in a community-based entrepreneurial style
of resource management. The efforts the residents put into conserving
their environment is the biggest investment itself. And the most important
accomplishment is the empowering of local communities and enabling
them to manage their own backyards as much as their common
environment.
Replication
The Bohol Ecotourism Program is replicable in any area. If a province
has no ecotourism office, the program can be initiated by the chief
executive who has the power to execute orders pursuant to the Local
Government Code. Councils may be formed to represent sectors who
may want to recommend an approach or method applicable to their
localities.
An Enchanting Journey to Success 75