TUGUEGARAO CITY, Cagayan (PIA) - -The Cagayan Valley Region's booth during the 2023 Travel and Tour Expo at the SMX Convention Center in Pasay City is a crowd-drawer after the Department of Tourism (DOT) Regional Office No. 2 showcased a bamboo-inspired design.

In a Facebook post, the DOT said that this initiative demonstrates a rekindled interest in bamboo as a resource that is sustainable and kind to the environment, and that can most effectively carry out the mandate of responsible and sustainable tourism.

"The usage of bamboo materials represents sustainability, which is a key idea for the region with its wealth of diverse natural resources," the Facebook post reads.

Romeo Caranguian, senior tourism officer, said that the three-day tourism display and exhibits are centered on the sustainability goals of experiencing nature and culture in all of their diversity, ensuring the protection and preservation of the environment and culture, fostering awareness, appreciation, and care for the destinations, and generating income for the local communities.

"Through the efforts of numerous line agencies and stakeholders, the region has recently taken steps to help the bamboo industry grow in prominence as an eco-friendly material with a wide range of uses," the post reads.

In Region 2, it can be recalled that the DOT-2 has accredited farm tourism sites to promote bamboo as a sustainable tourism.

Among these are the Caranguian Integrated Farm in Iguig, Cagayan that created waves on social media with its lovely bamboo canopy photo location, and the Cagayan State University-Gonzaga Campus' bamboo sanctuary where they cultivate bamboo and impart knowledge on bamboo farming. (OTB/MDCT/PIA Cagayan)