The Department of Tourism (DOT) is strengthening its initiatives to promote Eastern Visayas’ food through the mainstreaming of local flavors in tour packages.

DOT Eastern Visayas Regional Director Karina Rosa Tiopes said local dishes should be integrated into the experience of visitors as part of food tourism, which the department said is emerging globally as “one of the main driving forces of today’s travel.”

“When you visit a place, the first thing we ask, of course, is where do we stay? But after that, it always says, where do we eat? Local food enhances the tourism industry,” Tiopes said in an interview Monday.

The United Nations World Tourism Organization reported that food is “a central part of the tourism experience” and makes up one-third of a tourist’s expenses.

Tiopes said that while food tourism cannot yet be measured by a specific percentage, it is embedded in all tour activities.

“We cannot quantify it by saying that a certain percentage of tourists came because they want our food because we integrate food into all tours. Food tourism is truly a natural part of the whole experience,” she added.

Tiopes also encouraged hotels and restaurants to serve local foods, particularly during seminars and events attended by visitors from outside the region.

“We have been encouraging our partners to give our visitors the opportunity to taste something that is ours,” she said.

Among the region’s popular foods are binagol (sweet root crop inside a molded coconut shell), moron (a mix of sticky rice and cocoa wrapped with banana leaves), pastillas (candy made from carabao’s milk), suman (a combination of white and brown glutinous rice), smoked fish, roscas cookies, and chocolate tablets.

DOT has lined up several activities this year to advance tourism, such as food safety, culinary skills development programs, workshops on street food, fusion cuisine, and other culinary techniques to enhance local flavors and adapt to modern demands. (PNA)