DOT unveils Top 15 LGUs to receive P180M funds for ‘Tourism Champions Challenge’

MANILA, Philippines — Fifteen local government units are set to receive a combined amount of P180 million from the Department of Tourism as part of its flagship program, the Tourism Champions Challenge (TCC).

This week, the DOT unveiled the shortlisted 15 LGUs from Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao, which will receive funds for tourism projects for the winning tourism proposals they submitted.

These are:

Luzon

Visayas

Mindanao

TCC, launched in February this year, is a nationwide campaign that incentivizes tourism development among cities and municipalities.

Through this challenge, 1,400 member-mayors of the League of Municipalities of the Philippines and more than 100 city mayors were invited to propose tourism projects that would “spur economic development across the country’s regions.” The proposals are also expected to be in line with the current administration’s seven-point tourism agenda.

Related: DOT to pursue set goals for tourism recovery in line with Marcos’ vision

“The National Tourism Development Plan 2023 to 2028 (NTDP) approved by President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. acknowledges that in order for our tourism industry to be inclusive and globally competitive, we must closely collaborate with our local government units to hasten the transformation of communities towards tourism excellence,” Tourism Secretary Christina Frasco, a former mayor herself, said in a statement.

“The Tourism Champions Challenge is a flagship program of the Marcos Administration with the Department of Tourism and TIEZA (Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority) providing a mechanism for our dedicated and passionate local chief executives to access national government funding to address critical tourism issues, the resolution of which can serve the intention to transform the country into a tourism powerhouse in Asia," she added.

The DOT said that it received 98 proposals from 90 LGUs in Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao from March to May this year. The submitted proposals underwent a rigorous evaluation process facilitated by the 16 DOT Regional Offices and TCC Committee, which ensured fairness and impartiality.

Of the 98 proposals, initial evaluation showed that 41 were