With the appointment of agriculture undersecretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat as the next tourism chief, the prospect of Batanes becoming a popular agro-tourism spot has become “brighter,” according to Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel Piñol.
He said in an interview that the Department of Agriculture was looking to develop the country’s northernmost province through the construction of farm-to-market roads, postharvest facilities for the fisheries sector and a fish port starting this year.
“Batanes needs infrastructure like ports. If you look at it from the standpoint of agriculture and fisheries, we cannot justify construction because it’s too expensive compared to the products that the industry can produce,” he said, “But if we look at it as a tourism destination, we can justify it.”
Tourism growth in Batanes is expected to accelerate, especially with Philippine Airlines and Cebu Pacific now offering direct flights to the capital of Basco from the Clark International Airport in Pampanga.
Batanes is a mini-archipelago of 10 islands, including the main island Batan and the largest island Itbayat.
It is on the Unesco Tentative List for Inscription in the World Heritage List.