ILOILO – The provincial government is considering the appointment of Ilongga beauty queen Alexie Brooks as tourism ambassador for Iloilo.
Brooks, a native of Leon town, recently earned the title of Miss Eco International Philippines.
Gov. Arthur Defensor Jr. expressed enthusiasm about Brooks’ potential role, noting her recent pageant victory as a significant asset for Iloilo’s promotional efforts.
“This is a win for the province,” he said, emphasizing that Brooks’ involvement would be timely for advancing local eco-tourism.
“We will have Alexie as an ambassador especially since she is Miss Eco-Tourism. One of the areas of our tourism industry is eco-tourism,” Defensor explained.
He also disclosed impending plans to issue an executive order (EO) for “Turista sa Barangay for MoRProGRes Iloilo”.
This initiative aims to utilize the barangays as venues for tourism events and establish them as points of care for tourists, in accordance with the provincial tourism development plan.
“We want to sign the EO to institute Turista sa Barangay, a program to develop the barangay as a community venue for tourism events and activities as well as the point of care for tourism in the province of Iloilo,” said Defensor.
He outlined that Brooks’ proposed responsibilities as an ambassador would include promoting the executive order and representing both the city and province of Iloilo to tourists.
He stressed the importance of enhancing the tourism industry at the barangay level to empower local communities to effectively welcome and host tourists.
Defensor is optimistic that these initiatives, once implemented, will boost local incomes through increased tourist activities.
“That is why we develop our barangay as a destination and point of care, we want our people to be ready to attend to visitors because that’s their livelihood,” he said.
Brooks was also among the Top 10 finalists at the Miss Universe Philippines 2024, held on May 22./PN
