In a significant step toward strengthening sustainable development initiatives, Batanes State College (BSC) hosted the Workshop on Assessing Tourism Opportunity Conditions in the Batanes Islands on February 26, 2026, at the BSC Conference Hall.

The activity forms part of the implementation of the research project funded by the National Research Council of the Philippines (NRCP) titled “A Study on Tourism Carrying Capacity: The Case of Batanes Observatory.” The project is a collaborative initiative between University of the Philippines Diliman – College of Home Economics and Batanes State College.

Anchored on the framework of the International Network for Sustainable Tourism Observatories (INSTO), the workshop was implemented through the Batanes Tourism and Hospitality Monitoring Center in partnership with the Provincial Government of Batanes.

The sessions were facilitated by Dr. Mary Anne Ramos-Tumanan, Professor VIII at UP Diliman College of Home Economics – Department of Hotel, Restaurant, and Institution Management, together with Ms. Camille Besares, Research Assistant. Representatives from the Municipal Local Government Units (MLGUs) of Batanes presented comprehensive profiles of their respective tourism industries, highlighting site evaluation and prioritization, as well as SWOT–TOWS analyses anchored on their Tourism Planning Guides and Tourism Opportunity Spectrum.

The outputs during the workshop directly supported both the research objectives and the municipalities’ tourism development plans. These served as key inputs for the Focus Group Discussion (FGD), which aimed to identify strategic development opportunities and strengthen the long-term resilience of the islands as a sustainable tourism destination.

Through this NRCP-funded initiative, BSC continues to bridge academic research and local governance, ensuring that the future of Ivatan tourism remains evidence-based, inclusive, and community-driven.