Cebu Eastern College
College of Hospitality & Tourism Management
FLEXIBLE LEARNING MODULE
Course Title Philippine Tourism, Geography and Culture
Course Code TMC 2
Course Unit (s) 3
Pre-Requisite None
Semester & A.Y. Second Semester A.Y. 2022-2023
Learning Synchronous & Asynchronous On-line
Approach
Learning Outcomes
This chapter presents the major tourist destination areas in locos
Region. Major discussions will be on access, health and safety issues, geographical
characteristics, major attractions, gastronomy, and distinctive cultural attributes of the region
related to the development and promotion of tourism in the Philippines.
By the end of the chapter, students should be able to:
1. identify the different major attractions, activities, accommodations, and cultural highlights
in the provinces within the locos Region;
2. create different tour packages that carry different types of tourism activities within the
region; and
3. assess the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats of the region in terms of the
4 As of tourism.
Lesson 2: Region 1 - Ilocos Region
Introduction
Ilocos Region offers a wide variety of tourism products-from a historical walk on Calle
Crisologo, taking a dip in the popular beaches of Pagudpud, and to take a selfie at the picture-perfect
Bangui windmills. It successfully developed an array of tourism attractions and activities, hence,
having one of the most vibrant tourism industries. The locos Region includes the provinces of:
• Ilocos Norte;
• Ilocos Sur;
• La Union; and
• Pangasinan.
A. Ports of Access
The region's gateway is through the Laag International airport which has daily flights from
Manila and some international destinations. It is accessible by land, though located at the
northernmost part of the country.
Laoag International Airport
via MacArthur Highway
By Air: Currently, only Philippine Airlines services offers Manila-Laag domestic flights with a
frequency of one to two flights per day. Laoag is just 45 minutes away from Manila.
By Land: Several bus companies offer regular trips from Manila to Laag, passing through the
other provinces in the region. The average travel time is 10-12 hours; hence, night trips are
recommended.
Getting Around: Private van and car rentals are available to move around the region as well as
public modes of transportation. One can take a bus to move from one province to the other, or a
jeepney and tricycle to get around towns.
E. Festivals and Special Events
Ilocos Norte
• Pamulinawen Festival - (February 10) in honor of St. William, the celebration features floral and
street dance parade.
• Guling-guling - (a day before Ash Wednesday) the residents of Paoay dress in their Ilocano
traditional costume adorned with antique jewelries, dance and sing around the town while being
given the sign of the cross using pounded rice instead of gray ash.
• Talip Festival - (May 19-20) commemorates the ancient peace pact that has brought peace among
ethnic tribes in the province of Ilocos Norte.
• Ani Festival - (March 23-30) a thanksgiving celebration for the bountiful harvest of rice in the town
of Dingras.
Ilocos Sur
• Longganisa Festival - (January 22) showcases the longganisa delicacy of Vigan; highlight of the
celebration is the street dancing competition.
• Tobacco Festival - (March 28-31) showcases the major industry of Candon City-tobacco-in line with
the founding anniversary of its cityhood.
• Viva Vigan Festival of the Arts - (ist week of May) showcases the rich history, heritage, and cultural
treasure of the city of Vigan; it has become the biggest cultural event in the region.
La Union
• International Long Board Cup - (January 25-27) an international surfing event for both amateurs
and professionals organized by the La Union Surfing Association.
• Buybuy Festival - (February 9-11) showcases the major produce of Burgos, La Union, the buybuy or
tiger grass.
Pangasinan
• Dagupan Bangus Festival - (April 16-May 4) showcases the major product of Dagupan, the milkfish
or Bangus; features street dancing, trade fairs, fluvial parade, and others.
• Binongey Festival - (April 17) showcases the traditional taste of rice cake cooked in bamboo using
direct firing.
• Mango-Bamboo Festival - (April 20-27) aimed to promote San Carlos City as a major trading center
of bamboo-based products and producer of carabao mangoes.
F. Major Cultural Groups
This Region has three (3) distinct groups: Ilocanos, Pangasinenses, and Igorots. Ilocanos
occupy the coastal provinces of Ilocos Norte, Ilocos Sur, La Union, and certain parts of Pangasinan.
The natives of Pangasinan are the Pangasinenses. There are also Tingguians who live in the secluded
mountains of Ilocos Sur.
The Ilocanos are from the provinces of Ilocos Norte, Ilocos Sur, La Union, Abra, and Cagayan.
The people are essentially rice producers but also plant cash crops like tobacco and garlic. Due to the
limited agricultural potentials in locos, Ilocanos are known to be thrifty, self-sufficient, and enduring.
Most have also resorted to outmigration, wherein the Ilocanos can be found all over the Philippines
as far as Mindanao and overseas. For families who chose to stay in the region, most of these families
have a family member working in Manila or abroad (Peralta 2000).
The Pangasinan live in the Peninsula just north of Zambales. There is a lush area for
vegetation and agriculture. Fishing abounds by the waters of the Lingayen Gulf. They also produce
the some of the best buri mats and the production of bolos (Peralta 2000).
G. Major Industries
Major industries are agriculture-based like crop production, mining, manufacturing, and
cottage industries. Its provinces are famous for agro-industrial businesses such as milkfish ( bangus)
cultivation and processing, livestock raising, fish paste (bagoong) processing, among others. Income
in the Ilocos provinces also come from cultivating rice, tobacco, corn, sugarcane, and fruits; and from
raising livestock such as pigs, chicken, goats, and carabaos (Department of Trade and Industry n.d.).
H. Languages/Dialects Spoken
Ilokano, Filipino, and English are predominantly spoken and understood within the region.
Pangasinense, Pangalatok, Bolinao, and Tagalog are also widely spoken in Pangasinan.
Travel Trivia
Ilocos Norte's location on the northwest corner of Luzon makes it ideal and suitable for wind
power generation. The 150MW Burgos wind farm in Ilocos Norte is the biggest wind farm in the
Philippines and the first wind project nominated for the Philippine Government's feed-in-tariff (FIT)
incentive scheme. The wind farm is expected to generate approximately 370GWh of electricity a year,
which will be used to power more than two million households, while offsetting approximately
200,000t of CO2, emissions annually (Power Technology 2018).
