Makati City Mayor Abby Binay on Friday, July 19, led the launching of the city's newest tourism campaign proving that Makati City is not just the country's commercial district and business center but also a hotspot for tourism and heritage conservation.
Mayor Abby Binay
Binay was joined by other city government officials during the kick-off ceremony of "Visit a Better Makati" campaign which aims to encourage more visitors to the commercial district and heritage sites.
“We want to elevate the visitor experience to a whole new level when they come to Makati. We want to showcase the city’s distinctive blend of centuries-old cultural heritage and cosmopolitan lifestyle. At the same time, we also intend to highlight our social programs that have gotten better over time,” Binay said.
With the slogan “Tara Na! Experience a Better Makati!," the mayor explained that visitors from the city's sister localities have over the years learned much about Makati’s transformation into a better version in many aspects of public service and governance.
“It is high time that they also experience first-hand how leisure can be seamlessly combined with business in our city,” she noted.
The city government is also set to distribute discount vouchers to visitors from its sister cities and municipalities.
The vouchers, offering up to 60 percent discount, can be redeemed at various participating establishments throughout Makati.
These include hotels such as Holiday Inn, Berjaya Makati Hotel, Shangri-la Hotel Makati, Fairmont Hotel, Ascott Makati, and Z Hostel. Other partner-merchants offering discounts for products and services include Agimat at Ugat Foraging Bar, Z Roof Deck Bar, Keepers, Chef Jessie's Place, Chef Jessie at Rockwell Club, Fiesta Philippines, Lobo & Kite Kebab Bar, Mich and Myl Nails, and Wine Drop, among others.
The city government will also provide free walking tours to visiting delegates. These include tours around the Central Business District, the Poblacion Heritage Sites, the St. Alphonsus Mary de Liguori Church – Garden Way of the Cross, and visit the famous Salcedo Market and Legazpi Market.
Since August 2022, Makati City has welcomed 48 LGUs to benchmarking activities where the city showcases its best practices in governance, administration, and service delivery.
To date, Makati has 558 sister LGUs in the Philippines.
MakaTurismo
Underscoring the importance of preserving Makati's rich historical and cultural assets, the city government implemented various initiatives aimed at protecting these sites as well as boost the public's awareness, especially young Makatizens, about the significance of these places.
One of the initiatives is the creation of the Makati Poblacion Heritage District Master Redevelopment Plan, which will set the design for the 6.6-hectare area's streetscapes, parks and public spaces, and define guidelines for future developments in the area to recognize and promote Makati's rich cultural heritage found mostly in the historic core of Poblacion.
At the same time, the city's Cultural Mapping and Historical Research program was officially launched on the same day of the mappers' orientation.
The local government unit (LGU) explained that the program aims to identify and document Makati's cultural assets and update and align its historical narrative. All the 33 barangays are actively involved with the UMak's College of Arts and Letters as its academic partner.
In November 2022, the city was awarded as one of the best cities in the Philippines that are pursuing sustainable tourism during the 1st Philippine Tourism Excellence Awards.
Makati City won in the local government category for its valuable contribution to sustainable urban tourism development.