28/09/2026
𝐂𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐅𝐮𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞: 𝐒𝐏𝐔𝐏 𝐒𝐭𝐮𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐦𝐩𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐑𝐞𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐓𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐦 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐏𝐞𝐧𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐚 𝐖𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐝 𝐑𝐞𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧
PEÑABLANCA, CAGAYAN — In celebration of 𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝 𝐓𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐦 𝐃𝐚𝐲 2026, students from Saint Paul University Philippines (SPUP) took active steps to protect the region's environmental future by participating in a major tree-growing initiative in Peñablanca on September 27.
The initiative was part of a province-wide push for "𝑟𝑒𝑔𝑒𝑛𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑣𝑒 𝑡𝑜𝑢𝑟𝑖𝑠𝑚" spearheaded by the Cagayan Tourism Office under the leadership of ENP. Jennifer Baquiran. While various institutions conducted simultaneous clean-up drives at tourist sites across the province, SPUP directed its efforts toward restoring a critical watershed that supplies water to Tuguegarao City and surrounding communities.
Volunteers from the Paulinian Hoteliers, Restaurateurs, and Tourism Society (PHRTS) were joined by students from BSBA majoring in Finance and Marketing Management of SBAHM. Together, they planted Fringon seedlings, a tree species native to the Peñablanca area.
The collaborative ecological effort was fully supported by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), with the Fringon seedlings formally donated by the Metropolitan Tuguegarao Water District (MTWD).
Organizers noted that the tree-growing activity was designed to reflect the core principles of regenerative tourism. Unlike traditional tourism models, regenerative tourism challenges stakeholders and visitors to go beyond simply appreciating a destination by actively working to heal, restore, and care for the natural resources that sustain it.
For the participating students, the hands-on activity served as a practical lesson in environmental stewardship. In a collective statement, the SPUP student community highlighted their evolving role in the industry: "𝐴𝑠 𝑓𝑢𝑡𝑢𝑟𝑒 ℎ𝑜𝑠𝑝𝑖𝑡𝑎𝑙𝑖𝑡𝑦 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑡𝑜𝑢𝑟𝑖𝑠𝑚 𝑝𝑟𝑜𝑓𝑒𝑠𝑠𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑎𝑙𝑠, 𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑠𝑡𝑢𝑑𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑠 𝑟𝑒𝑐𝑜𝑔𝑛𝑖𝑧𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑡𝑜𝑢𝑟𝑖𝑠𝑚 𝑖𝑠 𝑛𝑜𝑡 𝑜𝑛𝑙𝑦 𝑎𝑏𝑜𝑢𝑡 𝑖𝑛𝑣𝑖𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑝𝑒𝑜𝑝𝑙𝑒 𝑡𝑜 𝑑𝑖𝑠𝑐𝑜𝑣𝑒𝑟 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑏𝑒𝑎𝑢𝑡𝑦 𝑜𝑓 𝑎 𝑑𝑒𝑠𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛—𝑖𝑡 𝑎𝑙𝑠𝑜 𝑐𝑎𝑟𝑟𝑖𝑒𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑝𝑜𝑛𝑠𝑖𝑏𝑖𝑙𝑖𝑡𝑦 𝑜𝑓 𝑐𝑎𝑟𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑝𝑙𝑎𝑐𝑒𝑠 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑛𝑎𝑡𝑢𝑟𝑎𝑙 𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑜𝑢𝑟𝑐𝑒𝑠 𝑤𝑒 𝑖𝑛𝑣𝑖𝑡𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑚 𝑡𝑜 𝑒𝑥𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑖𝑒𝑛𝑐𝑒."
The successful Peñablanca initiative marks a significant step for Cagayan's tourism sector, utilizing collective community action to ensure the province's natural attractions and vital ecosystems are preserved for generations to come.
