By Marie Tonette Marticio  CATBALOGAN City - Poverty-stricken Samar province has seen improvement in its economy as boosted by its tourism program. This development was attributed to the provincial government's 'Spark Samar' campaign which started in 2015. (FACEBOOK / MANILA BULLETIN) The province's poverty incidence dropped from 43.9 percent in 2015 to 22.1 percent in 2018. The poverty data was based on the 2018 Family Income and Expenditure Survey conducted last year by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) last year. Department of Tourism (DOT) 8 Regional Director Karen Tiopes shared that Spark Samar was a two-pronged program by then-governor and now-Samar second district Rep. Sharee Ann Tan because she wanted to change the image of Samar and its people, and even those outside the province. Tiopes added that they chose tourism because "it was the easiest way to convince people to take a second look at Samar and discover it in a different way." Tourist receipts have likewise increased from P1.8 billion in 2017 to P2.2 billion in 2018. The province also welcomed over 200,000 tourists last year. Samar Governor Reynolds Michael Tan believes that the improvement of the livelihood of people's organizations (POs) through tourism was a big factor in helping alleviate poverty. "Since they are located in barangays, their communities also thrive because we want to push for sustainable tourism," he said citing that in the absence of big investors, they prioritized filling in the small gaps that hinder POs from functioning after receiving the national government's support. According to Tan, it also creates a domino effect that helps them achieve sustainable production of local products because they are the ones who produce the raw materials and process them such as planting and harvesting of 'tikog' to weaving the 'banig' products. He shared that a PO in Basey town that manages the Sohoton Caves and Natural Bridge Park doubled its earnings from P3 million in 2017 to P6 million in 2018. Lulugayan Falls in Calbiga town which used to be accessible through a 4-hour walk from the town proper is now accessible by vehicles in 20 minutes making the transport of produce easier and cheaper. "It is not tourism alone, it's a development agenda to gain access to barangays and to reduce poverty in the province," Governor Tan stressed. Meanwhile, the official shared that they would be officially launching the Secret Kitchens of Samar on March 12 that would feature heirloom recipes and delicacies that use locally-sourced materials like Tamalos, Keseo, Tinapa, and Sagmani. "This is a new way to expand and invite more tourists to take on a culinary adventure and to enable local producers to penetrate supermarkets and international markets," he said.