BY GLENDA SOLOGASTOA
ILOILO City – “A destination by itself,” said Department of Tourism (DOT) Region 6 director Helen Catalbas of the rising Iloilo Business Park in Mandurriao district.
The business park will add to the tourist-drawing power of Iloilo City in particular and of Western Visayas in general because of the high-end facilities it will be offering, said Catalbas.
“We have something to be proud of when we bid for conventions and when we invite tourists to come to our place,” she added.
The business park s also destined to stimulate employment as day-to-day tourism in this southern city accelerates, said Catalbas.
She is bullish that additional facilities would stimulate employment in such tourist destinations as hotels, restaurants and the Iloilo Convention Center, among others. “With more tourists coming in,” she waxed ecstatic, “there will be corresponding demand for transportation units.”
As regards indirect employment, Catalbas foresaw widespread spillover to non-tourism enterprises.
For example, it will also create livelihood and more jobs for craftsmen and makers of souvenir items for tourists.
Also, the business park will be offering visitors and tourists coming to Iloilo for special events – like the world-class Dinagyang Festival – more rooms and places to stay.
“During off-Dinagyang seasons,” she said, “we enjoy competitive advantage now because of upscale facilities coming through Megaworld.”
Megaworld Corporation is the developer of the Iloilo Business Park./PN
