MANILA, (PNA) — The Dept. of Tourism has a new assistant secretary and the tourism chief has already laid out plans for future projects together, starting with Mindanao tourism.
Former Tourism Director for Davao, Art Boncato Jr. is the new Tourism Assistant Secretary upon President Benigno Aquino III appointment of new government posts last Friday.
Tourism Secretary Ramon Jimenez Jr. has meanwhile expressed his vision for Mindanao tourism, saying that Boncato will be based there to help craft tourism policies for Mindanao.
Boncato was Executive Assistant Manager of Marco Polo Hotel in Davao before becoming a government official.
Although Davao could not actually be described as one of the country’s major contributors in foreign tourism, as Boncato once noted in a media interview, he said that with more direct flights, it might soon be.
Davao has had 1.2 million tourists in 2012 and Boncato, the new assistant tourism secretary, though with more responsibilities now, still hopes that tourist arrivals in Davao will increase by 15 percent.