Tourism destinations where guests get to enjoy nature, farms, ecotourism and adventure, or savor the culinary delights of a region would play an important role in restarting tourism activities in the new normal, according to the Department of Tourism (DOT).
The development of so called “green corridors” would also help maintain regional biodiversity, improve environmental quality, offer economic opportunities, as well as protect heritage and culture.
The DOT is supporting the development of the GREEN Corridor Initiative (GCI), the flagship domestic tourism program of the DOT Region 4A, which includes the provinces of Batangas, Cavite, Laguna, Quezon, and Rizal. CGI is set to be launched in April to spur tourism recovery and response in the province of Laguna.
“The creation of travel corridors has been a key component in the resumption of tourism in some of the country’s destinations. We are confident that the same principle can be applied in Laguna,” said DOT Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat, who visited Laguna recently to assess the province’s readiness to reopen for tourism.
Puyat spearheaded the validation of the Dona Leonila Park at Sampaloc Lake and Casa San Pablo, which are under the proposed Laguna tourism circuit of the GCI, along with Tayak Nature, Adventure and Wildlife (TANAW) Park in Rizal, Nagcarlan Underground Cemetery, and the slipper making demonstration in Liliw.
“Laguna is blessed to have many open-air, nature and culture-based tourism products that Filipinos would like to experience when traveling amidst the pandemic. And best of all, Laguna can be accessed quickly and conveniently from Metro Manila through land travel, which is the most ideal way for Filipinos to travel in the current situation. There is great potential for the tourism sector in this province to rebound and recover,” she added.
The tourism program’s guidelines for the GCI are yet to be released, but the identified tourism products will be based on their readiness and quality, guided by the development standards espoused in the National Tourism Development Plan and the Tourism Rapid Assessment.
Part of the implementation process for the CGI includes the production of QR-coded GREEN Card for pre-registration procedures and cashless transactions in tourism establishments. A portion of the fees incurred in the purchase of the GREEN Card will be allotted to the provision of health insurance with COVID-19 emergency medical response services.
Puyat said the technology will be able to assess the carrying capacity of identified tourism sites and attractions, which will allow domestic tourists to be easily be informed about tourist flows using a digital platform. The platform will alert them whenever the chosen tourism site is already available to accept tourists.
“This flagship domestic tourism program aims to spur the recovery and transition of the Laguna Tourism Cluster into the new normal. Upon its launch in April, it will include the city of San Pablo and the municipalities of Liliw, Rizal and Nagcarlan,” said the tourism chief.
The DOT continues to conduct on-site inspections of accommodation establishments to ensure strict compliance with DOT health and safety guidelines. As of 28 January, 1,489 establishments were given the green light to operate in the region, 871 of which are in Laguna.
The DOT Region 4A has also also endorsed one tourism infrastructure project in Liliw for the construction of Tourism Assistance Center and Green Restroom, and four in San Pablo including Doña Leonila Park Improvement and Rehabilitation; Sampaloc Lake Wharf and Floating Stage; Sampaloc Lake lamp posts and trash bins, and city heritage zone and historical sites.
Laguna is the second highest contributor of the 2020 Same Day Tourism Arrivals sharing 11 percent of the total number of the region’s total tourism arrivals, gathering a total number of 1,267,762 same-day tourism arrivals. The province is also the second-highest contributor of the 2020 Overnight Tourism Arrivals sharing 22 percent of the total number of the region’s total tourism arrivals, gathering a total number of 207,559 overnight tourism arrivals.
