Behold Bohol: Pioneering sustainability and progress in 2024, a national paper yearend feature on the province’s tourism read.
Behold Bohol, as a slogan, has brought the province’s tourism prospects to new heights over the years.
Cong. Edgar Chatto, who was governor when the slogan was launched in 2017, considers Behold Bohol as a successful branding strategy.
Behold Bohol was as an aggressive campaign to push Bohol back into the world map after the 2013 earthquake that damaged many of province’s tourism sites and attractions, including centuries old churches, towers and heritage structures.
“Recovery a big challenge,” Chatto said.
In hindsight, he shared securing the support of close friends in the global tourism industry in efforts to fast track recovery.
These include Tourism Secretary Ramon Jimenez, a close friend way back when Chatto and Sen. Richard Gordon crafted the Tourism Act of 2009, now the country’s Bible of Philippine Tourism.
It also involved the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) Sec. Gen. Taleb Rifai, a friend Chatto met personally in the UNWTO General Assembly in Tunisia, Africa, who brought multinational CNN consultants.
Chatto had been the chairperson of the House of Representatives Committee on Tourism and Head of the Philippine Delegation to the UNWTO gathering. He was selected to preside over a session in the Global Tourism Assembly with over 600 delegates from various countries.
The United States Agency of International Development (USAID) also supported the development of Bohol’s Tourism Recovery Plan which included the continued establishment of the Bohol Panglao International Airport (BPIA) with focus on Arrivals, Access, Attractions, Accommodations and Activities – five investment areas in tourism.
At the local forefront, tourism stakeholders led by Atty. Lucas Nunag, chair of the Provincial Tourism Council, the provincial government and Local Government Units participated in a branding workshop that resulted in a decision to develop Bohol as a brand by itself, hence, Behold Bohol was born.
Tourism continues to be a game changer for Bohol, in terms of creating jobs and more economic activities including growth in investments, Chatto said.
The same feature recognized Bohol, the first and only designated UNESCO Global Geopark in the country, as having become a visible destination where luxury, sustainability, community empowerment, and cultural heritage thrive in harmony.
Tourism prospects for Bohol shine even brighter with its recent recognition as a top domestic destination by travel platform, Agoda in its New Horizons Ranking.
Earlier, David Leechiu of renowned Leechiu Properties in Singapore pronounced that Bohol remains an exciting tourism and investment destination in 2025.
