SAN FERNANDO CITY, La Union (PIA) – Governor Raphaelle Veronica Ortega-David believes that sustaining agri-tourism development will boost the transformation of the province.
 
The governor delivered her State of the Province Address (SOPA) on Monday at the newly-opened La Union Convention Center in this city.
 
Agri-tourism is one of the sectors she pledged to develop to reach a sustainable and progressive economy and to make La Union the “Heart of Agri-Tourism in Northern Luzon by 2025.”
 
To sustain agri-tourism, the Provincial Government of La Union (PGLU)  assists farmers through certified seed dispersal, building agricultural infrastructure support facilities, technical assistance, farm equipment distribution, and capacity-building sessions.
 
These interventions were successfully implemented with the help of the Department of Agriculture (DA), the Philippine Rice Research Institute (PRRI), the Multi-Sector Governance Council, and farmers' associations and cooperatives.

“Agriculture is one of our vision pillars precisely because it is both a strength and an opportunity," Governor Ortega-David said.
 
The Kadiwa program in the city has also been reinforced recently as the local government supports the Kadiwa ng Pangulo program of President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr.
 
With this, she assured that Kadiwa events will be executed more this year as it aligns with the province’s agri-tourism vision by showcasing its local products and farm goods.
 
“We are keen on staging more Kadiwa events this year so that we can provide each kaprobinsiyahan access to farm goods that are affordable, fresh, and certainly produktong lokal,” she assured.
 
Over the past few years, the agriculture sector in the province expanded significantly.

Continuity between agriculture and tourism is the main concern that needs to be addressed to give locals and tourists the best experience.
 
"Tourism is the other pillar of our Agri-Tourism Vision where we have gained significant breakthroughs through the years," the Governor added.
 
According to Governor Ortega-David, there was an increase in revenues attributed to tourism by 315.21% from 2021 to 2022.
 
The province gained a total of 494,387 tourists in 2022 and 308,309 in the first semester of 2023.

Furthermore, La Union won six Pearl Awards for the best tourism practices of the province and the Philippine Tourism Excellence Award for the Good Local Governance category.
 
Gov. Ortega-David thanked the province's contribution to their achievement in sustainable urban tourism.
 
As the number of visitors in the province increase, the governor announced that the La Union Tourism Summit will have its grand return in September 2023 which will highlight the tourism and hospitality sector and its invaluable contributions to the economy of the province and will presumably be held at the La Union Convention Center.
 

“As we now harvest the results of our efforts on agri-tourism and as we make La Union the Heart of Agri-Tourism in Northern Luzon by 2025, we also now plant the seeds of another facet of tourism,” she assured.
 
The province is striving in achieving greater heights in agri-tourism and Gov. Ortega-David also hopes to pivot eco-tourism in the next few years.
 
"After 2025, we shift the focus for La Union to focus on eco-tourism,” she said. (JCR/AMB/SGR/PIA La Union)