FREEPORTS & ECOZONES
FROM RIVALRY TO SOLIDARITY
Entrepreneurs in La Union team up to open a souvenir hub By January Guia Caringal-Bawat
L
a Union has always been one of the best tourist destinations in the Philippines. The province boasts of beautiful and majestic scenery definitely worth visiting. It also prides itself for having a wide variety of products—from food to retail—involving micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME). Now a go-to shop for souvenir-savvy tourists, the La Union Pasalubong Hub by Mimosa at the Poro Point Baywalk, Poro Point Freeport Zone in San Fernando City speaks of a victorious journey of entrepreneurs in the province. The Poro Point Baywalk is an ideal place for a pasalubong center, said the Mimosas, a group mostly composed of travel agency owners who were pre-pandemic competitors. For them, the baywalk solves tourists parking woes as it has a huge parking space.
Weavings, Food, and Wine The Hub exclusively sells locally made products. Among these products are abel weavings (traditional woven product of Vigan and the Ilocos region), such as blankets, towels, shawl, and table runners. Lomboy wines (Filipino fruit wine made from the fruits of black plum [duhat]) and basi (wines and vinegar)
22 Collective / Issue 19