The founder of TravelXchange is urging stakeholders in the tourism industry in Negros Occidental and Oriental to develop a strong brand for the One-Negros Island Region campaign.

Charles Lim said yesterday that Bacolod City and the province of Negros Occidental are at a crossroads at this point with the One-Negros Island proclamation.

“You will be expected as stakeholders to take the lead in helping tourism grow to a larger commercial tourism scale,” he said at the opening of the 9 th TravelXchange at SM City Bacolod that runs until Sunday.

Lim said they believe there is tremendous potential for travel and to develop Bacolod into a tourist destination. But Bacolod cannot do it by itself. The product is there but it needs to offer more.

He suggested that Negros Occidental connect with the Oriental side that has great diving sites in the world, like the Apo Reef.

“I don't see why there should be no strong cooperation to do that,” Lim said.

Negros Oriental with its nature and world-renowned diving spots can make the Island's tourism products more attractive, he said.

Lim said Negros Occidental's mountain resorts have great potential and its haciendas are always intriguing. “You MICE facilities with the opening of SMX Convention Center give you great hope. But the road ahead of you will not be easy,” he said.

“You will, of course experience that every month or every two months, there will always be a new destination popping up in this country also running after the same market as you will be. So you will have to build more infrastructure, and among yourselves develop more professionalism, and try to obtain as much industry, information, and technology as much as possible,” Lim said.

It is a question of branding, how you want to brand Bacolod. It is how strong the stakeholders believe it wants the city to be, he said.

Lim said that as they celebrate TravelXchange, they and their partners, the Department of Tourism, the province and the city, firmly believe that the growth of tourism in this region has lots of potentials.

Cynthia Mamon, CEO of Enchanted Kingdom; said they are partners in pushing and supporting Philippine Tourism to help achieve the Department of Tourism's goal to bring in domestic tourists and foreign travelers.

Meanwhile, Lim said they conceptualized TravelXchange nine years ago to stimulate travel between Bacolod and Negros with other parts of the country, regionally and internationally.*CGS

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