Southern roots Having been based in Davao, she revealed she has known Duterte back when he was still Mayor of Davao City. That time, working with the largest travel association in the country, on top of managing her own travel agency, saw her joining sales missions and travel fairs here and abroad to promote, not just the Philippines, but also Davao as a destination. Her passion and determination to promote Mindanao caught the eye of then Mayor Duterte. And maybe, this same drive and determination was the reason she was chosen to head the Tourism department. “When the President asked me to take charge of DOT, I was quite reluctant. I really thought about it a hundred times whether I should accept the appointment or not. I accepted it because I believe that he can make a difference, and I want to help him,” she enthused. Just weeks after her appointment, Experience Travel and Living sat down with Tourism Secretary Wanda Corazon Teo for a chat.
Rural tourism Teo, who has a degree in Business Administration from St. Theresa’s College, shared that she wanted to focus on Mindanao (“It has been left behind” is how she put it); revive Filipino cultural shows and bring them to international travel fairs to share our culture to the world; help people, especially women, have an alternative livelihood (“We have to create economic movement in all societal levels”); and push for rural tourism. Her short-term goals include improving and building infrastructure that would help Philippine tourism. “We have to improve our airports and seaports. These are the first things that tourists see when they arrive in our country. Then, we need to build roads and bridges to connect these tourists to their destinations,” she said Next on her agenda was putting the Philippines, especially Mindanao, on the world tourism map. She remembered that, some years back, it was very challenging for tour operators to promote the Philippines.
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“During travel fairs abroad, people would just pass by our booth because they didn’t know the Philippines. They would ask where the Philippines is, and I would have to show them a map and point where our country lies,” shared the Tourism chief. “After overcoming that, the next thing we had to face is tell them about Davao and Mindanao. They didn’t know where Davao is or where Mindanao is. For some who were familiar with the area, they only know it as a place of civil unrest, terrorism, war, and what they heard or watched on the news. I would hear people say, ‘Oh, not Davao,’ or ‘Don’t go to Mindanao.’ But for me, Mindanao is a very beautiful place that people should visit.” Teo believes Mindanao, and the Philippines in general, remains an untapped destination that has potentials. She intends to promote other destinations apart from popular ones, such as Boracay, Palawan, Bohol and Cebu, among others. “While these places attract huge crowds, we have to develop other destinations that are less traveled but have huge potential. I have to meet with the local government units to check what other places in their locality we could develop into tourist destinations. Personally, I want to visit these places and see for myself their potential as tourism products,” she said. She is open to working with other government agencies, such as the Departments of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), Trade and Industry (DTI), and Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), among others, to reach tourism goals. “During the first Cabinet meeting, I was seated beside DPWH Secretary Mark Villar and DENR Secretary Gina Lopez. It was very fortunate. I was able to talk to Secretary Villar and tell him about road and infrastructure problems going to the different tourism sites. I asked for his help, and he asked me to identify the places that need improvement,” she shared. With Secretary Lopez, she discussed finding the right balance between tourism activities and the environment.
