Tourism Secretary Alberto Lim is appealing to oil companies to provide clean restrooms in their gasoline stations for the benefit of motorists traveling to popular tourist destinations.
“We are requesting the help of all oil companies to provide clean and well maintained restrooms in their gas stations, especially those in secondary highways, as their contribution to our ‘Pilipinas, Tara Na!’ domestic tourism campaign,” said Lim.
The tourism chief also thanked Senator Ramon Revilla, Jr. for Senate Bill No.22, otherwise known as the Land Transport Support Facilities for Hygiene and Convenience Bill, restrooms should be constructed in every 30 to 50 kilometers down the national and provincial highways nationwide. The bill is still being tackled in the Senate for further study and fine-tuning.
Lim considers this as a very welcome development as it aims to make traveling by land more comfortable for tourists.
“We are blessed to have tourism-minded allies like Sen. Revilla. Hopefully, this will also encourage domestic travel among locals who won’t have to contend with aching bladders once we have restrooms every 30 kilometers,” he said.
At present, clean restrooms are available mostly in gas stations along the expressways but is lacking in other secondary highways. Major oil players are Shell, Chevron, and Petron. Independent oil players are Flying-V, Phoenix, Seaoil, Unioil, and Eastern Petroleum, among others.
Lim said the bill was a good start for the Philippines where tourism infrastructure and facilities have to be improved in preparation for its thrust to accommodate 6 million tourists by 2016.
In the US, rest areas are provided along their highways to let travelers rest, eat and refuel. Each rest area has restrooms, a gas station, park area, pay telephones and a convenience store.
In a related development, Lim said that he expects more jobs to be created as more government officials spread the culture of tourism through their work in line with President Benigno Aquino III’s instruction to reduce poverty and really improve the lives of marginalized Filipinos.