She principally authored Republic Act 19816 or the Farm Tourism Development Act, paving the way for an increasing number of farmers, farm owners and farming communities to benefit from converting their farms into tourist destinations. This sets the stage to make farm tourism more popular in our country, the same goal that former Tourism Secretary Mina Gabor is also working on. Farm tourism is now gaining ground all over the world, although it is still far from being a major contributor to tourism receipts. The family officially joined the tourism industry when it acquired the Boracay Sands Hotel in 2015. With the Department of Tourism’s expected increase in tourist arrivals in the coming years, I’m glad the Villar family’s heart also beats for the Tourism Industry.

Source: The Standard October 30, 2017 10:18 UTC