Industry leaders suggest to tag Santa Ana as “Game Fishing Mecca of Northeast Asia”

By Thelma C. Bicarme and Benjie S. De Yro

Friday 10th of February 2012

SANTA ANA, Cagayan, Feb. 9 (PIA) -- Tourism stakeholders in Cagayan drafted a letter requesting the local chief executive to adopt a new branding for their town after realizing that the present “Paradise of the North” has been used by other municipalities.

In a meeting called by the newly organized Santa Ana Hotel Accommodation Resort and Restaurants Association (SAHARRA), the members said they will request Mayor Darwin Tobias to consider their suggestion to tag Santa Ana as “Game Fishing Mecca of Northeast Asia” instead.

Joan Taguba, president of SAHARRA and a resort owner, said the decision of the organization came after an exchange of ideas between them and representatives of the local government unit and Cagayan Economic Zone Authority. Earlier, the Cagayan Provincial Tourism office organized the Provincial Tourism Council where every municipality was asked to submit a brand name. “After assessing the situation, we decided to adopt ‘Game Fishing Mecca’ as a brand,” Taguba said.

She said that Port San Vicente formerly housed the Philippine Game Fishing Foundation, which holds the competition summer of every year. The event continued to attract game fishers not only in the country but also those from the Asia-Pacific countries.

Travel journalists in their reports usually call the municipality as a game fishing mecca of the Philippines because of the event. The Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources has confirmed that the waters around the area are home to high-priced species of fishes.

However, it was learned that the fishing foundation usually uses the catch, tag, and release strategy to conserve the species, BFAR noted.

Santa Ana is also home to the only on-line gaming business in the country and is slowly picking up as a major tourist destination in the country because of the Freeport zone and its natural attractions. (TCB/BSY/PIA-2)