Dinagat Islands elevates tourism experience with ‘boodle fight’
By Renelle L. Escuadro
BUTUAN CITY – “Dinagat Islands adventure is not complete without the traditional boodle fight, a festive feast that showcases the islands' rich gastronomy and diverse culinary heritage."
This is the statement of Dinagat Islands Tourism and Culture Officer Benlen Navas as he shared the positive feedback and rating that the province received from travelers and tourists who visited the island province.
Navas added that boodle fight is practiced in the country as a Filipino dining tradition where food is shared communally on banana leaves, eaten with hands and without utensils.
The provincial government of Dinagat Islands, through the Dinagat Islands Tourism and Culture Office, collaborated with the Department of Tourism (DOT)-accredited travel and tours in the province to include and highlight the boodle fight in their packages and spice up the tourism experience of the travelers and tourists.
“Food is an essential ingredient why people visit a place for adventure. So we offer boodle fight that will allow the travelers and tourists to have a distinctive taste of Dinagatnon culinary that is influenced by both local ingredients and traditional Filipino cooking methods. Our cuisine and dishes use locally sourced, including the fruits and vegetables,” the tourism officer said.
The boodle fight includes some of the culinary scenes showcased in an attractive food preparation and design: Seafood as all visitors would request for crustaceans like lobsters and crabs since Dinagat Islands is abundant in aqua-culture. They also look for fresh catch from the ocean such as fish and other shellfish to make the boodle fight lavish and mouthwatering; pansit or noodles; poot-poot ginamos which is made of small fish with fermented sauce; and paired with tropical fruits and its locally produced pineapple wine.
According to Azonta Travel and Tours, an accredited travel and tour operator in the province, boodle fight is included in the meals of the tour packages. This is for free and clients do not pay extra on this food service.
During the recent Holy Week celebration, the boodle fight was highly requested by the tourists. Because of high demand, travel and tour agencies sought assistance to farmers and fisherfolk for the sufficient supply of food in their establishments.
Virgie from Cagayan de Oro City, went to Dinagat Islands to spend Holy Week and mark her birthday. “I celebrated my birthday with my family in the peaceful and beautiful town of Libjo in Dinagat Islands. It was very intimate, including the birthday food, served through a boodle fight. We were very close even while eating. It was fun and we were very happy,” she said.
Meanwhile, the Dinagat Islands Tourism and Culture Office, acknowledging the spike and increase of tourist arrivals in the province, continues to strengthen its efforts to make Dinagat Islands known to the world as a must-see destination in the Caraga region. (RLE, PIA Dinagat Islands)