PUERTO PRINCESA CITY, Palawan—Tourist arrivals in Palawan soared by 17 percent in 2011, placing the province first in the Mimaropa region and fifth in the country as a favorite tourist destination, said Department of Tourism Region IV Director Louella C. Jurilla.

During the three-day Tourism Summit in this city last week, Jurilla presented the development plan of the DOT for the country, the Mimaropa region and for Palawan.

She also identified the present challenges and opportunities facing Palawan and its capital, Puerto Princesa City.

The three-day summit is the first gathering of stakeholders of the local tourism industry in Puerto Princesa City and is being undertaken to come up with the industry’s Three-Point Agenda that will spell out standards and regulations, public-private partnerships, and its Code of Ethics.