Top tourist destinations in the country will get the support they need from the Department of Tourism (DOT) through projects that aim to institute health and safety measures and help restore key areas in these tourist spots.
With many parts of the country enjoying more relaxed rules and the economy in these places reopening gradually, the DOT is making sure health and safety measures are in place in premier tourist destinations in the country, which are also in the process of reopening slowly.
According to Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat, the department is continuously outlining plans of action and protocols at every tourist site in the country, particularly in premier destinations like Palawan, Boracay, Bohol, Davao and Baguio City.
Puyat detailed the efforts taken by the DOT in a letter to Tourism Congress of the Philippines (TCP) president Jose Clemente III. The TCP is a private organization of tourism stakeholders created by law to partner with the DOT in the promotion of tourism in the country.
The Transforming Communities towards Resilient, Inclusive, and Sustainable Destinations or TouRIST is Puyat’s flagship project in partnership with the Asian Development Bank (ADB). The project will restore three key tourism sites and provide technical assistance for emergency health services in El Nido, Palawan.
The DOT-ADB collaboration also aims to restore four tourism sites in Coron. The project will also provide drainage improvements, social enterprise support and livelihood development, and technical assistance in the tourism sites.
Phase one of the ADB loan program will cost $50 million in time for implementation early next year, according to the tourism chief.
Bohol, another prime destination under the TouRIST program, is expected to receive a $62-million funding from the World Bank by the first quarter of 2021, Puyat said.
The amount will fund local economic development initiatives like the Assistance to Reinvigorate Tourism (ART) Value Chain, the Palengke Program, and tourism sites enhancement and management, and enhancement of hygiene preparedness in tourist sites.
The TouRist project will also provide assistance to the islands of Siargao and Siquijor.
Siargao will be assisted with hygiene preparedness of tourist sites, among others, while solar-powered street lights will be funded for the SAFER Siquijor Project.
Puyat noted the turnover of essential medical equipment to ensure the readiness of Boracay Island to handle COVID-related concerns.
The DOT is actively coordinating with the private sector for the turn over of RT-PCR Machines and an RNA extractor to the Davao local government unit (LGU). This will be used in the COVID-19 Laboratory at the Francisco Bangoy International Airport.
For Baguio City, the DOT, through its attached agency, the Tourism Promotions Board (TPB), will allocate P7.2 million to fund five rebranding projects, including a multi-platform digital system that will manage and monitor tourist arrivals in the city and promote “new normal” protocols and practices.
