P10-M rest area to enhance overall tourist experience in Albay

TABACO CITY: A tourist rest facility worth PHP10 million will soon rise at Hiraya Manawari Nature Park in Barangay San Vicente, Tabaco City, Albay and is expected to provide convenience to tourists and travelers and enhance their overall experience in the province. In her speech during the groundbreaking ceremony attended by local tourism stakeholders and provincial and municipal officials, Department of Tourism (DOT) Secretary Ma. Esperanza Christina Garcia-Frasco said the project is part of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.'s directives to ensure that the needs of tourists are met. "We found that the number one concern of tourists is a lack of public restrooms so we wasted no time and began conceptualizing a project that would ensure that the needs of our tourists are met and their convenience and safety are a top priority. For the world to love the Philippines, so too must we show our love for our tourists and there could be no better place to put a TRA (tourist rest area) here in Albay than in the city of true love (Tabaco City)," Frasco said. She said the facility will enhance the vibrant tourism programs of the city, which will increase tourism arrivals. "The park where we are right now has become a model of sustainability, and this perfectly aligns with the vision of our President under the National Tourism Development Plan, which ensures the sustainability of tourism destinations by introducing measures that will take care of their longevity for generations to come, and as a measure of sustainability, TRAs for 2024 will be solar powered," she added. Frasco said all TRAs in the country have an information desk, a pasalubong center, lounge, restroom and shower area, lactating room, and charging area. "We have 10 TRAs already operating in different parts of the country, and there are 22 more coming. We want to increase this in 2025 because this is the directive of our President to give importance to the tourism infrastructure so that the quality of tourism services in our country can be improved," she said. Tabaco City Mayor Cielo Krisel Lagman thanked the DOT for the latest tourism infrastructure development. The TRA in Albay will be constructed on a lot owned by the local government unit and is expected to be completed within five months. Source: Philippines News Agency