With countryside tourism picking up in Cebu, local tour operators are calling on the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) to conduct a thorough review of the moratorium they recently issued for tour vehicles.
Alice Queblatin, Tourism Congress vice president for Visayas travel and tour group, said last week that the moratorium could hurt countryside tourism especially as their new road trip packages are gaining momentum.
Queblatin said that DOTC Special Order No. 2011-18, a moratorium outlining guidelines in the granting of franchises to tourist buses in Cebu has conditions that are not business-friendly.
“While the DOTC has lifted the moratorium on giving out franchises to tour operators, they are only giving it to brand new vehicles, which we think is very unfair to other operators who cannot afford to buy brand new vehicles,” Queblatin said.
Queblatin said they are asking DOTC to consider vehicles that are five years old and are still in good running condition.
“What happens to vehicles that are more than five years but are still in very good condition? With their guidelines, does it mean that these will no longer be given franchises? We think that the government must not be too restrictive in this matter but rather open the franchise to all tour buses and really just check the units if they are still road worthy,” she said.
DOT backs call
Rowena Montecillo, Department of Tourism regional director, echoed the stand of the tour operators and has requested the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) for a temporary lift of the tourist buses moratorium.
“This will have an impact on our tourism as Cebu is known for our countryside destinations which means more need for land transports,” Montecillo said.
She added that Cebu has been pushing its countryside destinations and she lauded the tour operators for now coming up with road trip packages that are now becoming a strong brand for the tourists.
“We will need larger number of seating capacity of tourist buses aside from room capacity and good product because this will complement our packages and help us achieve our targets,” she said.
In April 2011, the DOTC issued D.O. 2011-18 which is “An order exempting vehicles for hire and tourist transport services from the moratorium on franchise issuance.”
In response to the order, the private sector-led Tourism Congress issued a position paper which they sent to Secretary Ramon Jimenez Jr. in November last year.
The position paper was titled “Development of a Sustainable Tourist Transport Industry in Support of the Inclusive Tourism Growth Program of the Aquino Administration,” which called for an amendment of the order.
The group said that the order was created and issued without proper consultation with the private sector and could have a negative impact to the industry, which is the platform that the government is now using to achieve inclusive growth.
“The transport sector of the tourism industry plays a very critical role to the success of the industry in a community or country which is why we always stress that the public and private sector need to talk to each other before coming up with any policy,” Queblatin said.