Tacloban city: The Department of Tourism (DOT) regional office here on Monday lauded the two Samar provinces and Ormoc City for bagging eight awards during the recent 2025 Association of Tourism Officers of the Philippines (ATOP) Pearl Awards.

According to Philippines News Agency, award recipients during the 26th ATOP National Convention are the provincial government of Samar, the provincial government of Northern Samar, and the city government of Ormoc in Leyte. In an interview, DOT regional director Karina Rosa Tiopes said the awards include grand winners for the best tourism promotion video in the provincial level, and the best tourism gifts or non-food souvenirs for their entry, the Lara brand, won by Samar province.

Samar province was also the first runner-up for the best practices on the Sustainable Tourism Award for the provincial level. Northern Samar province was declared the grand winner for its entry, Lalaguna Mangrove Eco Park Association, bagging the Best Practices in Community-Based Tourism for the provincial level.

Meanwhile, Ormoc City won three awards, including 1st runner-up for the best event hosting (international event), best practices in community-based tourism, and 2nd runner-up for best tourism gifts or non-food souvenirs. The city earns the awards under the independent city/component city level.

Tiopes said these recognitions, which were given during a ceremony on Oct. 2, are a manifestation that the region has a lot of laudable local government-led tourism programs. 'I believe that we have many other local governments across the region that have tourism programs or projects that also deserve recognition. I hope that the big wins of our three LGUs (local government units) in this year's ATOP Awards will inspire others in the region to document their programs and vie in next year's awards,' Tiopes told the Philippine News Agency.

The ATOP Pearl Award is an annual recognition program that honors exceptional practices, projects, and innovations by LGUs in the tourism sector throughout the Philippines. The awards program was established in 2005 by ATOP in collaboration with DOT to recognize exemplary contributions to the tourism industry, particularly those from LGUs; publicize creative endeavors and outstanding services to provide visibility and acknowledgment for commendable actions; and encourage excellence and inspire other LGUs to adopt successful strategies and initiatives in their own tourism development.