Local food favorites and agripreneurs’ fresh produce across the Davao region are currently on display in this year’s Buwan ng Kalutong Filipino (Filipino Food Month) at the Abreeza Ayala Mall here.

“Now that we are slowly witnessing more tourist arrivals, we want to help our local entrepreneurs and farmers also regain traction. As we can see, the merchandise they offer is good and represents the bountiful harvest as well as the colorful heritage of Dabawenyos,” Department of Tourism in Davao Region (DOT-11) Director Tanya Rabat-Tan said.

“The four-day event will be an avenue to also highlight Davao’s culinary prowess through unique local dishes and concoctions,” Tan told reporters during the launch of the Filipino Food Month here on Wednesday.

Earlier, Tan said the DOT-11 eyes some 1.4 million tourist arrivals in 2022 noting the emerging interest of domestic tourists in inter-regional travels.

She said the new target is a 10 percent increase from the 2021 tourist arrivals at 1,306,732.

Data from the DOT-11 showed that its tourist arrivals sunk to 1,391,360 in 2020 or a decrease of 73.32-percent from the 5,216,759 tourist arrivals in 2019. (PNA)