A photo exhibit showcasing the province of Ilocos Norte’s iconic sites will be featured at the Philippine Center in New York City on Tuesday (US time).

Dubbed “Daytoy ti Panawenmo (This is your time), Ilocos Norte,” the exhibit will feature a series of 24 photographs, capturing the beauty of the province, aimed at encouraging tourists and investors to visit the province.

“The exhibit is an invitation to experience the passage of time in the province, to immerse oneself in its rhythms and stories. From the break of dawn to the tranquil hours of twilight, the photographs reveal the ever-changing moods and beauty of Ilocos Norte around the clock,” Xavier Ruiz, tourism officer-in-charge at the Ilocos Norte Tourism Office, said in a statement.

Ruiz and selected representatives of the provincial tourism and investment office of the Ilocos Norte government took an official business trip to the United States on Aug. 17, particularly in New York and New Jersey, to attend the “Fiesta in America” organized by the Filipino-American community in the East Coast to promote tourism and investment in the Philippines.

Aside from the visual exhibit, the Ilocos Norte delegates also brought along with them authentic Ilocano products, from hand-woven textiles that reflect generations of weaving mastery to delectable treats that embody the flavors of Ilocano cuisine.

“The market-ready products are ready for franchising business and we are targeting our balikbayans to entice them to invest in local businesses should they decide to retire in the Philippines for good,” Ilocos Norte investment office head Soya Cheng-Bueno said in an interview.

Poised to become an investment destination in northern Philippines, Ilocos Norte continues to invite investors by offering more fiscal incentives and possible joint venture initiatives.

Under the newly updated Ilocos Norte Investment Code, new and existing businesses with fresh investments worth PHP5 million or above are given up to 50 percent in discounts on the payment of basic real property tax.

In addition, businesses are exempted from paying the governor’s permit fees for five years if 80 percent of their total workforce are bonafide Ilocos Norte residents.

Businesses engaging in solid waste and industrial waste project or energy efficiency and conservation project will also be exempted for one year from the governor’s permit fees.

Aside from the fiscal incentives, Bueno said a one-stop shop that eases the process of doing business in the province is also being offered to attract more investments and boost economic activities in the province.

To promote public-private partnership matching and policies alignment, the Ilocos Norte government also recently signed a memorandum of agreement with the Board of Investments.

Specifically, it aims to strategically position the province as a top investment destination for East Asian countries and a major commercial hub in northern Philippines, linking the northern and central parts of Luzon to Asian countries, such as Taiwan, China, Hong Kong, Japan and South Korea. (PNA)