Go Mindanao bus tours to be promoted for BIMP-EAGA tourism

BUS TOURS around Mindanao will be promoted as part of the tourism campaign within the Brunei-Indonesia-Malaysia-Philippines East ASEAN Growth Area (BIMP-EAGA), according to an official of the Mindanao Development Authority (MinDA). The Go Mindanao bus tours, which was launched last year but has yet to start operations, would start with the initial route this year covering Davao, Bukidnon and Cagayan de Oro City. “The Go Tourism Mindanao bus tour will be used in the promotion of tourism destination to BIMP-EAGA,” said MinDA International Relations Division head Jonathan C. Miral during the Habi at Kape forum on Feb. 28. Mr. Miral noted the success of last year’s BIMP-EAGA Budayaw Festival that was held in General Santos City and Sarangani province as a tourism and cultural program within the sub-regional grouping. This year, he said, the BIMP-EAGA Friendship Games is being planned as another major event. At the same time, Mr. Miral said they continue to work on strengthening air and sea transport linkages between the Philippines and the three other EAGA members. “We are pushing for transport linkages as essential to develop trade activities and generate investment inflows in Mindanao,” he said. At present, the Davao-GenSan-Bitung sea route is being served by a 100-TEU (twenty-foot equivalent) vessel, and two new routes are planned for launching within the first half this year. These are between Tawi-Tawi and Sandakan, and Batara, Palawan and Kudat in Sabah. Mindanao and Palawan are the two focus areas in the Philippines for the BIMP-EAGA. “The positive aspect in being able to participate in the BIMP-EAGA is it strengthens partnership with these countries and we are now able to penetrate this market, and our local traders to be able to do business, and export, with these countries,” Mr. Miral said. —