Creative wellness tourism opens pathways in San Pablo City

Casa San Pablo is positioning itself as a creative wellness getaway in Laguna. —CONTRIBUTED PHOTOS

A small, artsy bed and breakfast (B&B) in San Pablo, Laguna, is offering up new and intimate ways to relax and unwind through creative experiences. Located within the sprawling pine gardens of a family estate, Casa San Pablo is positioning itself as a creative wellness getaway with a homestyle cafe and a vibrant community art space.

Through creative activities like painting sessions, writing workshops, pottery classes and native cooking tours, the B&B is drawing travelers who are seeking interactive travel experiences that lift up their spirits, relax their minds, and connect with the people in the community.

The 16-room Laguna destination draws its inspiration from United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization’s push toward creative tourism, described as “travel directed toward an engaged and authentic experience, with participative learning in the arts, heritage, or special character of a place, and it provides a connection with those who reside in this place and create this living culture.”

Casa San Pablo is drawing travelers looking for interactive travel experiences that lift up their spirits.

Harnessing the creative communities that already exist in San Pablo City, the offerings include watercolor master class sessions by award-winning painter and San Pablo native Lito Ballaran, as well as pottery sessions by San Pablo-based artisan Janina Villapando, writing workshops by National Book awardee Rofel Brion, and heritage cooking sessions by innkeeper An Mercado-Alcantara.

Clay storytellers

The B&B is also the home of the handmade terracotta figures known as Casa San Pablo clay storytellers.

The creative well-being activities attract solo travelers, who want to spend their time away doing mindful crafts, groups of friends who want to bond over an authentic experience, and corporate teams looking for new ways to learn teamwork.

The activities are also windows to San Pablo’s heritage and culture, and are aligned with San Pablo City’s tourism master plan, which defines culinary heritage and creative experiences as two of four pillars of tourism, which also include agriculture and eco-tourism. Mercado Alcantara, who runs Casa San Pablo with her husband Boots Alcantara, believes interactive well-being activities like these are the way forward for small towns hoping to attract more tourists.

Casa San Pablo is a regular cooking tour stop.

“Creativity-based tourism strategies should really play a big role in our city’s development agenda,” she explained.

When Tourism Secretary Christina Garcia Frasco launched the “Philippine Experience: Culture, Heritage and the Arts Caravan,” Casa San Pablo’s creative and culinary activities were among the stops she highlighted as a worthy effort in showcasing the country’s unique experiences.

Creativity finds
expression here.