Discover [City/Municipality]: Unleashing the Hidden Gems of [City/Municipality]

Wazzup Pilipinas!?

Introduction:

We are proposing a tourism campaign that aims to showcase the hidden gems of [City/Municipality] and attract local and foreign visitors to discover its unique culture, natural beauty, and culinary offerings. Our campaign, "Discover [City/Municipality]: Unleashing the Hidden Gems of [City/Municipality]" will leverage the power of digital and social media platforms to promote the city's tourism potential and encourage travelers to explore its vibrant communities and diverse landscapes.

Objectives:

The campaign aims to achieve the following objectives:

1. Increase tourist arrivals and revenue in [City/Municipality] by at least 20% within the next 12 months.

2. Enhance the city's brand image and reputation as a destination for culture, adventure, and culinary tourism.

3. Create awareness and appreciation for the city's natural and cultural heritage sites among local and foreign tourists.

4. Promote sustainable tourism practices and responsible travel behavior among visitors to [City/Municipality].

Key Activities:

1. Develop a user-friendly and visually appealing tourism website that showcases the city's attractions, events, and tourism packages. The website will also feature an online booking system for hotels, tours, and other travel services.

2. Produce a series of promotional videos and social media content that highlight the city's unique culture, cuisine, and adventure activities. The content will be shared on major social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube, and targeted to specific audience segments based on demographics and interests.

3. Organize a series of cultural and culinary events that showcase the city's rich heritage and cuisine. The events will feature local artists, musicians, and chefs and attract both local and foreign visitors.

4. Develop tourism packages that cater to specific niche markets such as adventure, culinary, and eco-tourism. The packages will be promoted on the tourism website and through targeted online advertising.

5. Train local tourism stakeholders such as tour guides, hotel staff, and restaurant owners on sustainable tourism practices and responsible travel behavior. The training will focus on minimizing the environmental impact of tourism activities, preserving the city's cultural and natural heritage, and promoting community-based tourism initiatives.

Expected Outcomes:

1. Increased tourist arrivals and revenue in [City/Municipality] from both local and foreign visitors.

2. Improved brand image and reputation of [City/Municipality] as a destination for culture, adventure, and culinary tourism.

3. Enhanced awareness and appreciation for the city's natural and cultural heritage sites among visitors, leading to increased conservation efforts and preservation of these sites.

4. Promotion of sustainable tourism practices and responsible travel behavior, leading to minimized environmental impact of tourism activities and increased support for community-based tourism initiatives.

Conclusion:

The proposed tourism campaign, "Discover [City/Municipality]: Unleashing the Hidden Gems of [City/Municipality]" aims to promote the city's tourism potential and attract visitors from all over the world to explore its unique culture, natural beauty, and culinary offerings. The campaign will leverage digital and social media platforms, cultural and culinary events, and sustainable tourism practices to achieve its objectives and create a positive impact on the city's tourism industry and the local communities.

SSS promotes social security coverage to community in Antipolo City

Wazzup Pilipinas!?


The Social Security System (SSS) promoted the benefits of social security coverage to the residents of Sitio Tubigan, Brgy. Dalig, Antipolo City on March 31, 2023.

In a caravan initiated by UPLIFT Philippines Microfinance, Inc., SSS Public Affairs and Special Events Division (PASED) Head Carlo C. Villacorta talked to the residents of the said sitio and stressed the importance of SSS self-employed membership and payment of contributions to be eligible to SSS’ various benefits and loan programs.

“We like visiting self-employed workers in their communities, most especially those in the informal sector, because we really want to make sure that they are aware of SSS programs and convince them to invest some time and effort to register with the SSS and pay contributions as self-employed members. Self-employed members of SSS are now covered by the Employees’ Compensation Program – providing for additional benefits in case of work-related contingencies,” Villacorta said.

To end the brief dialogue, Villacorta encouraged the attendees to share what they have learned with their relatives and friends who are also self-employed so that they too will know the benefits of being covered by SSS.

SSS employees from the Cooperatives and Informal Sector Department (CISD) and SSS Antipolo Branch also assisted the residents of Sitio Tubigan with their SSS transactions during the day-long event.

For SSS to visit your community, please send an invitation via email to cisd@sss.gov.ph.

Grains of Growth: Agrikonomiya 2023 Cultivating Young Minds

Wazzup Pilipinas!?

Agrikonomiya 2023, with the theme “Changing the Landscape: Economic Development Through Emerging Agricultural Paradigm,” aims to inform Filipinos, especially the youth, about the current state of the country’s agricultural sector. Established in 2018, Agrikonomiya continues to serve as a ground to gain knowledge about agricultural and socio-economic initiatives and issues across the Philippines.

The event has five (5) main competitions, namely the Agricultural Resolutions Pitch, Poster Making Contest, Essay Writing, Promotional Video, and Debate Competitions. With these, participants can showcase their talents and innovative ideas. Students from different schools also get to prove their excellence in defending their assigned stances, as well as market Bachelor of Science in Agricultural and Applied Economics (BS AAE) as a degree to the youth,  proving that it has so much more to offer. Although the contests were still conducted online due to the pandemic, it does not take away from the goal of the event, which is to bring light upon agriculture as a significant factor in economic growth through collective action.

Other activities such as a seminar and a culminating activity are also part of Agrikonomiya 2023’s series of events. With the theme,”Pivoting in the Current Agricultural Crisis: Adapting Emerging Agricultural Paradigms and its Implications in the Economy,” the seminar seeks to

equip all potential audiences with the amount of consciousness they need to understand the

sentiments of farmers. The culminating event, lastly, serves as the final event and marks the end of Agrikonomiya 2023.

A Growing Mountain of Achievements

UP Agricultural and Applied Economics Circle (UPAAEC), formerly UP Agricultural Economics Circle, spearheads the project. They are an academic organization based in the University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB), composed of bona fide students from the BS AAE program.

Wanting to convince others to take the course, experience the “sunshine” of getting into agriculture, and persevere through the rain of issues, its members launched the project. And, staying true to their vision of promoting Agricultural and Applied Economics as a field of study and career, they now hold the event, which was only a one-day program back in 2020, for a whole month long.

As a result, not even five years after the event was introduced to constituents and audiences, Agrikonomiya took to the national scene in 2021, having around 80 schools and over 500 students participating in it. Now, 558 high school students competed for this year’s competitions.

(READ: https://www.rappler.com/bulletin-board/agrikonomiya-involve-youth-agricluture-sector/)

Watch the livestream of our culminating activity for the full list of winners.

Planting the Seeds of Camaraderie

Aside from advertising the degree and creating fun activities for the youth to dive in,

Agrikonomiya also develops the spirit of camaraderie in its proponent organizations’ members, as well as other constituents from and outside UPLB. Partnerships are sowed and endorsements are made to further widen the spread of the event.

Listed below are just a few of the endorsers and partners of UPAAEC for this year’s Agrikonomiya:

Endorsed by:

UPLB College of Economics and Management Student Council

UPLB Department of Agricultural and Applied Economics

UPLB Department of Economics

UPLB College of Economics and Management

Junior Philippine Economics Society

National Economic and Development Authority

Major Partners

Daily Tribune

SparkUp

Wazzup Pilipinas

BusinessMirror

Gold Sponsor

UP Beta Sigma Fraternity - Los Baños Chapter

Silver Sponsor

TSU Economics Society

Bronze Sponsor

UP Agribusiness Society (UPABS/BISOK)

UP Society of Management and Economics Students - UP SMES

Arts and Sciences Society of English Majors

Applied Economics Society

Sandigan ng Mag-aaral para sa Sambayanan

USLS - College of Arts and Sciences Council

As the agricultural sector continues to face numerous upheavals, it is important that citizens help each other in calling for concrete, efficient, and inclusive policies by untiringly creating initiatives for the betterment of the country. Like what was shown in Agrikonomiya 2023, all must strive for economic development to reap the harvests of their collaborative efforts.

Rainie Edz Dampitan and Mark Famatigan