Manila - Tourism Secretary of the Philippines Ace Durano, called on local communities that host World Heritage sites to help preserve tourist magnets since “these are sources of our livelihood as much as they are wellsprings of our national pride, as reported by the Philippine Daily Inquirer yesterday.
Durano made the appeal in the wake of the Department of Tourism`s participation in the World Heritage Travel Expo held last November in Macau.
“We appeal to the people, tourists who visit and local communities, to take care of these sites,” he said of special landmarks included on a list drawn up by the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO).
“We also owe their preservation not only to our fellow Filipinos but to the world and our future generations,” he added.
Durano also sought help from schools, local government units and families to encourage the young to promote and value Philippine heritage sites and even other local tourism attractions.
The Philippines had five sites listed in UNESCO`s World Heritage, including the Baroque Churches of the Philippines, Tubbataha Reef Marine Park, Rice Terraces of the Philippine Cordilleras, Historic Town of Vigan, and the Puerto-Princesa Subterranean River National Park.
On the other hand, Macau government has also tried to preserve its World Heritage sites, after being reprimanded by several locals and support groups for not “properly protecting” the territory`s cultural heritage sites last year.
The SAR government has issued a regulation imposing maximum height limit of 90 meters to the buildings surrounding the culturally protected area of the Guia Lighthouse.
Guia Lighthouse is included in the Historic Centre of Macau, which includes a collection of over twenty locations and sites that blends Chinese and Western cultures in Macau, comprising monuments such as urban squares, streetscapes, churches and temples, and was enlisted as one of the Unesco World Heritage in 2005.
“With its historic street, residential, religious and public Portuguese and Chinese buildings, the historic centre of Macau provides a unique testimony to the meeting of aesthetic, cultural, architectural and technological influences from East and West,” said UNESCO about Macau.
“It bears witness to one of the earliest and longest-lasting encounters between China and the West, based on the vibrancy of international trade.”
Macau hosted World Heritage Travel Expo in November last year at the Venetian Convention and Exhibition Centre, which included exhibits from the mainland, Macau, Philippines, Indonesia, Korea and Malaysia.
There are now 20,000 overseas Filipino workers in Macau, who play an important role in the development of Macau, while the Philippines is Macau`s fifth-top visitor generating market, with more than 200,000 people from the Philippines visiting the SAR in the first seven months of last year alone.
Source: macaudailytimesnews.com
Durano made the appeal in the wake of the Department of Tourism`s participation in the World Heritage Travel Expo held last November in Macau.
“We appeal to the people, tourists who visit and local communities, to take care of these sites,” he said of special landmarks included on a list drawn up by the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO).
“We also owe their preservation not only to our fellow Filipinos but to the world and our future generations,” he added.
Durano also sought help from schools, local government units and families to encourage the young to promote and value Philippine heritage sites and even other local tourism attractions.
The Philippines had five sites listed in UNESCO`s World Heritage, including the Baroque Churches of the Philippines, Tubbataha Reef Marine Park, Rice Terraces of the Philippine Cordilleras, Historic Town of Vigan, and the Puerto-Princesa Subterranean River National Park.
On the other hand, Macau government has also tried to preserve its World Heritage sites, after being reprimanded by several locals and support groups for not “properly protecting” the territory`s cultural heritage sites last year.
The SAR government has issued a regulation imposing maximum height limit of 90 meters to the buildings surrounding the culturally protected area of the Guia Lighthouse.
Guia Lighthouse is included in the Historic Centre of Macau, which includes a collection of over twenty locations and sites that blends Chinese and Western cultures in Macau, comprising monuments such as urban squares, streetscapes, churches and temples, and was enlisted as one of the Unesco World Heritage in 2005.
“With its historic street, residential, religious and public Portuguese and Chinese buildings, the historic centre of Macau provides a unique testimony to the meeting of aesthetic, cultural, architectural and technological influences from East and West,” said UNESCO about Macau.
“It bears witness to one of the earliest and longest-lasting encounters between China and the West, based on the vibrancy of international trade.”
Macau hosted World Heritage Travel Expo in November last year at the Venetian Convention and Exhibition Centre, which included exhibits from the mainland, Macau, Philippines, Indonesia, Korea and Malaysia.
There are now 20,000 overseas Filipino workers in Macau, who play an important role in the development of Macau, while the Philippines is Macau`s fifth-top visitor generating market, with more than 200,000 people from the Philippines visiting the SAR in the first seven months of last year alone.
Source: macaudailytimesnews.com
