RURAL UPDATE

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BY JOHNNY NOVERA
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Wednesday, January 11, 2017
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WE FIRST suggested the idea of a “post-Dinagyang tour” in our column way back in 2013 – that our local hotels, resorts, restaurants and travel establishments should promote, with the support of the Department of Tourism and our city government, so that tourists and visitors will see and enjoy more of Iloilo.

January and February of the year is a period where thousands of people come to Western Visayas because of the Ati-atihan Festival in Kalibo, Aklan during the second week of January. This is followed by our own Dinagyang festivities in Iloilo on the third week of this month.

Then, another big event which attracts thousands of visitors and the religious nationwide is the fiesta of Our Lady of Candles or Nuestra Senora dela Candelaria in Jaro, Iloilo City, which is observed on Feb. 2 of every year.

The celebration attracts not only devotees to the Lady but also enthusiasts in sabong or the cockfight derby in Jaro that coincides with the fiesta. This is known to many cockfighting aficionados all over the country.

If we may suggest to the hotel, resort and restaurant sector, we wish they will offer their guests the post-Dinagyang tour we mentioned above to attract them to stay after Dinagyang week up to the Jaro Fiesta on Feb. 2. They can extend promotional discounts to family groups so that the husbands can be in the sabungan to pursue their sport but the family can take advantage to come for the fiesta and enjoy our food festivals of Ilonggo delicacies and an extended stay in the city.

If planned in advance with our Department of Tourism and the total involvement of our hotel, resort and restaurant sector, and support of our city government, we will strengthen Iloilo as a favorite tourist destination in this part of the country, more so because of the food delicacies that we are known for.

We should also be proud to show visitors our river and land in the city — an award-winning metropolis that has expanded roads and bridges, and a 14-kilometer circumferential road to provide more areas for business expansion.

We also built a 1.2-km Esplanade running along both sides of the Iloilo River from the Carpenter Bridge in Molo and eastward to Sen. Benigno Aquino Jr. Avenue, now a favourite pasyalan in the city where many Ilonggos converge for their morning walk and in the early evenings. For those who are not from Iloilo, this river body clinched a Gold Award in the Awards for Livable Communities (LivCom) in Chicago, Illinois, USA in 2010.

We are proud to be an Ilonggo! We take this opportunity to wish our readers a Happy New Year! (For comments or re-actions, please e-mail to jnoveracompany@yahoo.com)/PN

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