By Analou de Vera
The Department of Tourism (DoT) is pushing to create more faith-based tourism activities to attract more Catholic faithful to visit the country.
“We aim to capitalize on our unique Catholic festivals and Filipino traditions to pursue more Catholic pilgrims or faith tourists from Brazil, Mexico, United States, Columbia and Spain among others,” said Tourism Secretary Wanda Tulfo-Teo.
The Philippines is ranked as third country in the world with most Catholic, following Brazil and Mexico and remains as the largest Catholic nation in Asia, the DoT said.
Meanwhile, the DoT bared that close to one million tourists, both local and foreign, had visited the ‘Walled City of Intramuros’ in Manila during the observance of Holy Week.
The tourism department said that it “welcomed the visitors with a series of events to promote the Walled City as a holistic faith destination in Metro Manila.”
“For a pre-dominantly Catholic country like the Philippines, the Holy Week or Lenten season is a perfect time to reflect, repent, and travel. We congratulate the Intramuros Administration and our Faith Tourism sector for the successful reopening of the Walled City for the Lenten season,” said Tourism Secretary Wanda Tulfo-Teo.
After more than seven decades, churches and chapels in Intramuros were opened during the Holy Week for the conduct of Visita Iglesia.
