The Philippines is a Southeast Asian country in the Western Pacific, comprising more than 7,000 islands. Its sprawling capital, Manila, is famous for its waterfront promenade and centuries-old Chinatown. Intramuros, a walled city in colonial times, is the heart of Old Manila. Its home to the baroque 16th-century San Agustin Church as well as Fort Santiago, a storied citadel and military prison.

Regions first came to existence in on September 24, 1972 when the provinces of the Philippines were organized into 11 regions by Presidential Decree No. 1 as part of theIntegrated Reorganization Planof PresidentFerdinand Marcos.Since that time, other regions have been created and some provinces have been transferred from one region to another. July 7, 1975: Region XII created and minor reorganization of someMindanaoregions.[1] July 25, 1975: Regions IX and XII declared as Autonomous Regions in Western and Central Mindanao respectively.[2] August 21, 1975: Region IX divided into Sub-Region IX-A and Sub-Region IX-B. Minor reorganization of some Mindanao regions.[3] November 7, 1975: Metropolitan Manila (National Capital Region) created.[4] July 15, 1987: Cordillera Administrative Region created.[5] August 1, 1989: Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) created.[6]Region XII reverted to an administrative region. October 23, 1989: First creation of Cordillera Autonomous Region.[7]Ratification rejected by residents in a plebiscite. October 12, 1990: Executive Order 429 issued by PresidentCorazon Aquinoto reorganize the Mindanao regions but the reorganization never happened (possibly due to lack of government funds).[8] February 23, 1995: Region XIII (Caraga) created and minor reorganization of some Mindanao regions.Sultan Kudarattransferred to Region XI.[9] 1997: Minor reorganization of some Mindanao regions. December 22, 1997: Second creation of Cordillera Autonomous Region.[10]Ratification again rejected by residents in a plebiscite. December 18, 1998: Sultan Kudarat returned to Region XIII.[11] March 31, 2001: ARMM expanded.[12] September 19, 2001: Most Mindanao regions reorganized and some renamed.[13] May 17, 2002: Region IV-A (CALABARZON) and Region IV-B (MIMAROPA) created from the former Region IV (Southern Tagalog) region.Auroratransferred to Region III.[14] May 23, 2005:Palawantransferred from Region IV-B to Region VI; MIMAROPA renamed to MIMARO.[15] Augut 19, 2005: Transfer of Palawan to Region VI held in abeyance.[16] May 29, 2015: Negros Island Region (NIR) created.Negros OccidentalandBacolodfrom Region VI andNegros Orientalfrom Region VII transferred to new region.[17]

National Capital RegionLuzonManila(NCR)

Cordillera AdministrativeRegionLuzonBaguio(CAR)

Ilocos RegionLuzonSan Fernando(La Union)(Region I)

Cagayan ValleyLuzonTuguegarao(Region II)

Central LuzonLuzonSan Fernando(Pampanga)(Region III)

CALABARZONLuzonCalamba(Region IV-A)

MIMAROPALuzonCalapan(Region IV-B)

Bicol RegionLuzonLegazpi(Region V)

Western VisayasVisayasIloilo City(Region VI)

Central VisayasVisayasCebu City(Region VII)

Eastern VisayasVisayasTacloban(Region VIII)

Negros Island RegionVisayasto be designated[23](NIR)

Zamboanga PeninsulaMindanaoPagadian(Region IX)

Northern MindanaoMindanaoCagayan de Oro(Region X)

Davao RegionMindanaoDavao City(Region XI)

SOCCSKSARGENMindanaoKoronadal(Region XII)

CaragaMindanaoButuan(Region XIII)

Autonomous Region in Muslim MindanaoMindanaoCotabato City(ARMM)

The tourism industry is recognized by the government as an important contributor to the generation of foreign exchange earnings, investments, revenue, employment and to the growth of the countrys output. The inclusion of tourism as a major pillar in the Medium Term Philippine Development Plan (MTPDP) has given priority to the tourism sector by promoting the Philippines as a premier tourist destination and investment site. If developed in a sustainable manner, indeed it can be a powerful economic growth engine for the country. It deserves to be a top priority for national development because of the following reasons: