Bayambang Bids For Toursim Boost

Bayambang, Pangasinan -- Home to the colossal St. Vincent Ferrer bamboo structure as Guinness World Record holder, this first-class town that juts out to Tarlac, is bidding for a tourism boost that may well become the template for local government units to rev up their COVID-19-affected economies.

Photo Insert: Towering at a breathtaking 50m, the St. Vincent Ferrer bamboo structure holds the Guinness World Record for tallest bamboo structure.

Nina Jose Quiambao, the wife of Bayambang Mayor Dr. Cezar Terrado Quiambao, unveiled the municipality's tourism plan, a ten-year push that would see the LGU's nine districts evolve into viable communities that would spell more jobs for its residents during its" Buwang Turismo" planning.

Next month, construction for a stadium with a 5,000 seating capacity is set to start near the St. Vincent Ferrer statue, a towering figure where a Prayer Park is slowly taking place, The Saud statue was cited as a Guinness World Record Holder on April 5, 2019, during the municipality's celebration of its 400th year.

Rising to a height of 164 feet and nine inches, the statue of the patron saint of the town is higher than Rio de Janeiro's famed Christ the Redeemer statue and the Statue of Liberty in New York. The statue was erected by the Kasama kita sa Barangay Foundation and the People of Bayambang.

This early, investors are now looking at setting up a mall near the stadium and the Prayer Park which has seen a daily increase in visitors from other towns in Pangasinan and from Metro Manila and other provinces as well as balikbayans who marvel at the colossal structure that can be viewed from as far as Binalonan town.

The tourism plan that Bayambang has set out to do is expected to be replicated by other cities and municipalities as the emergence of tourism as a way out of the economic mess brought about by the pandemic gains traction.

With tourism, LGUs need only to develop their own places of interest, according to balikbayan Gerry de Vera who was interviewed by TFD. Tourism remains the best ticket for earning precious foreign exchange and inducing job creation.

The rule of thumb is that a tourist in the country creates one job.

Bayambang's tourism blueprint is one of the key points of a "Rebolusyon Laban sa Kahirapan" program of Mayor Quiambao aimed at lowering the poverty incidence level in the said town.

WEEKLY FEATURE : MVP Group Keeps Lights On During Pandemic