THE Department of Tourism (DoT) relaunched on Friday the Philippine Tourism Awards (PTA) to encourage and promote industry excellence and recognize the quality and ongoing support of industry stakeholders, institutions and partners.

'Through the Philippine Tourism Awards, we aim to give recognition to institutions, individuals, pillars, change-makers, and trailblazers in the various sectors of tourism that have contributed greatly to the fact that tourism is now one of the strongest pillars of our economy, providing jobs to millions of Filipinos and providing much-needed livelihood and employment in communities across the country,' Tourism Secretary Christina Garcia Frasco said.