Brief description of Tourism Guidebook for Local Government Units Office of Tourism Development Planning, Research and Information Management Tourism Development Planning Division Rationale: Tourism development and promotion are among the functions of Local Government Units (LGUs) as mandated by the Local Government Code of 1991 (RA7160). As local government shifted to more participatory forms of development governance, they were also encouraged to enjoin other stakeholders in local tourism development and promotion. Based on Section 37 of RA9593: Consistent with RA 7160, Local Government Units (LGUs) shall prepare and implement a tourism development plan (TDP) that integrate zoning, land use, and infrastructure development, as well as standards for tourism enterprises, and heritage and environmental protection based on the principle of sustainable tourism development. Based on Section 38 of RA9593: All LGUs shall prepare an inventory of its available resources as basis for local and national tourism planning; as well as compile regular reports on the status of their tourism plan(s) and programs, including tourist arrivals, tourism enterprises, among others. Background: Convergence project of different National Government Agencies and Donor programs for the development of a relevant tool for LGUs to come up with Solutions in responding to the challenges and opportunities of tourism. The development of this Tourism Guidebook would not be have been possible without the initiative and collaboration of the Department of Tourism, Department of the Interior and Local Government, and Department of Environment and Natural Resources, with vital funding support provided by the Government of Canada thru Local Governance Support Program for Local Economic Development (LGSPLED) project and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) thru the Biodiversity Partnership Project (BPP) Introduction: This Tourism Guidebook has been developed as one of the support mechanism to “enhance the capability of LGUs to monitor and administer tourism activities and enforce tourism laws, rules and regulations in their respective jurisdiction.” The Provincial, City and Municipal Tourism Officers can benefit a lot from this guidebook given their responsibilities in the local tourism development. Local Tourism Officers play a central role not only in tourism promotion but also in the preparation, implementation, and updating of local tourism development plans, as well as enforcement of tourism laws, rules and regulations.Being the coordinator for all these activities, the tourism officer should be able to have good grasp of the fundamental concepts and process of tourism development. The Provincial, City and Municipal Planning and Development Officers can also use the guidebook to properly integrate tourism development into the larger context of the land use and comprehensive development of their respective LGUs. They should also work closely with the tourism officers to ensu

1. Brief description of Tourism Guidebook for Local Government Units
Office of Tourism Development Planning, Research and Information Management
Tourism Development Planning Division
Rationale:
Tourism development and promotion are among the functions of Local Government Units (LGUs) as
mandated by the Local Government Code of 1991 (RA7160). As local government shifted to more
participatory forms of development governance, they were also encouraged to enjoin other
stakeholders in local tourism development and promotion.
Based on Section 37 of RA9593:
Consistent with RA 7160, Local Government Units (LGUs) shall prepare and implement a
tourism development plan (TDP) that integrate zoning, land use, and infrastructure development, as
well as standards for tourism enterprises, and heritage and environmental protection based on the
principle of sustainable tourism development.
Based on Section 38 of RA9593:
All LGUs shall prepare an inventory of its available resources as basis for local and national
tourism planning; as well as compile regular reports on the status of their tourism plan(s) and programs,
including tourist arrivals, tourism enterprises, among others.
Background:
Convergence project of different National Government Agencies and Donor programs for the
development of a relevant tool for LGUs to come up with Solutions in responding to the challenges and
opportunities of tourism.
The development of this Tourism Guidebook would not be have been possible without the initiative and
collaboration of the Department of Tourism, Department of the Interior and Local Government, and
Department of Environment and Natural Resources, with vital funding support provided by the
Government of Canada thru Local Governance Support Program for Local Economic Development (LGSP-
LED) project and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) thru the Biodiversity Partnership
Project (BPP)
Introduction:
This Tourism Guidebook has been developed as one of the support mechanism to “enhance the
capability of LGUs to monitor and administer tourism activities and enforce tourism laws, rules and
regulations in their respective jurisdiction.”

2. The Provincial, City and Municipal Tourism Officers can benefit a lot from this guidebook given their
responsibilities in the local tourism development. Local Tourism Officers play a central role not only in
tourism promotion but also in the preparation, implementation, and updating of local tourism
development plans, as well as enforcement of tourism laws, rules and regulations.Being the coordinator
for all these activities, the tourism officer should be able to have good grasp of the fundamental
concepts and process of tourism development.
The Provincial, City and Municipal Planning and Development Officers can also use the guidebook to
properly integrate tourism development into the larger context of the land use and comprehensive
development of their respective LGUs. They should also work closely with the tourism officers to ensure
that planning standards are considered and other development concerns are addressed in the
implementation of tourism programs and projects.
Tourism development in the localities is not the sole function of the LGU as it requires concerted effort
of the whole community and active engagement of different stakeholders. Thus, this guidebook may be
used by stakeholders (who may also be members of the Tourism Council) so that they can fully
participate in each phase of local tourism development from planning, implementation, and monitoring
and evaluation.
This Tourism Guidebook is divided into two major parts:
• The guide in Formulating the Local Tourism Development Plan (TDP) contains simplified
discussions of concepts, methods, step-by-step processes and worksheets, including examples
to aid users in developing elements of the TDP.
• Supplemental Readings which can help you understand the different tourism concepts and
tourism planning processes better. The Supplemental Readings can be used separately,
depending on the needs of your LGU and the specific level of tourism development in the
destination. They may also be used in combination with other readings. The eleven
Supplemental Readings are as follows:
1. Profiling the Local Tourism Industry helps you prepare an inventory of tourism resources
and assets; assess the tourism situation in your area; list down potential safety, security
risks and natural hazards; and prepare a profile of tourists and visitors in your locality.
2. Linking the Local Tourism Development Plan with the Local Mandated Plans outlines
how the TDP would be placed in the context of your CDP (Comprehensive Development
Plan) and CLUP (Comprehensive Land Use Plan), at the municipal/city level or the PDPFP
Provincial Development and Physical Framework Plan) at the provincial level.
3. Adopting the Local Tourism Development Plan Reading walks you through the steps on
mobilizing support and commitment towards plan institutionalization and provides tools
and tips to facilitate adoption and institutionalization of the TDP.
4. Preparing for Tourism Development Plan Implementation helps you in prioritizing and
ranking prioritized tourism projects for implementation. It also provides tools and
examples on capacity development to enhance success of plan implementation.

3. 5. Financing the Tourism Development Plan guides you to outsource funds from public and
private sectors to finance the ranked tourism project and show the importance of
writing an effective tourism project proposal.
6. Monitoring and Evaluating the Tourism Development Plan presents a simplified
discussion of monitoring and evaluation (M&E) and recommends simple tools on doing
M&E.
7. Managing the Impacts of Tourism helps you identify and analyze the positive and
negative impacts of tourism and teaches you how to manage the impacts by enhancing
the positive and minimizing the negative impacts.
8. Developing Tourism Products and Marketing the LGU Destination aids you in
understanding how tourism products are developed and promoted to attract visitors. It
will also orient you on tourism marketing and promotions techniques.
9. Institutionalizing Tourism Standards assists you in understanding existing national and
international tourism standards and encourage you to develop your own local standards
based on local situation.
10. Organizing a Local Tourism Office helps you understand the legal framework in
organizing a local tourism office as it also suggests possible roles and functions of a local
tourism officer.
11. Relevant Laws, Policies and Tourism-related Literature presents relevant laws, policies
and tourism-related literature. It also presents web links on tourism-related laws and
policies as well as on development planning, the environment, gender and other issues.