Tour program taps private sector aid in rehab efforts

The regional Department of Tourism (DOT) office said their “Bangon Tours” program will tap the private sector in promoting the country’s tourist destinations to help rebuild typhoon-hit areas in Central Philippines.

“The ‘Bangon Tours: Bakasyon Mo, May Meaning’ is in line with the government’s recovery and rebuilding efforts for the victims and survivors of calamities through the promotion of domestic tourism,” DOT Regional Tourism Director Rowena Montecillo said.

She said they are still optimistic on reaching their target of 3.3 million tourist arrivals despite the Oct. 15 earthquake and the Nov. 8 devastation caused by supertyphoon Yolanda.

Montecillo said they recorded 2.2 million tourist arrivals in Central Visayas from January to August.

She said they need 800,000 tourist arrivals at the end of the year to reach their target.

Target

Montecillo said Central Visayas contributes 20-30 percent of the country’s total tourist arrivals and is second to the National Capital Region.

“We are hoping and we are hopeful that with airlines opening direct flights to Kuala Lumpur and Taiwan to the region, we will still be able to reach our target,” she said.

She said South Korea still tops the tourist arrivals followed by Japan, the US, Taiwan and China.

Montecillo said they have asked the US Agency for International Development (USAid) to help them in preparing communication strategies to promote the country as a tourist haven.

“People now are thinking that what happened in Tacloban also happened to the rest of the Philippines. We want them to know that there are still a lot of tourists spots in the country that are still intact,” she said.

Revenue share

Private sector companies that signed an agreement with DOT will voluntarily share a percentage of their net income from the Bangon Tours to their chosen local foundation or non-government organization (NGO).

The revenue share can also be given to the Gawad Kalinga, Philippine Red Cross, Unicef and World Vision.

“So far, we are still talking with the private sector,” Montecillo said.

The project will run from Dec. 1 this year until February 28 next year.

Montecillo said power supply remains a problem for both typhoon and earthquake hit areas in Central Visayas.

Generator sets

“We are still collecting data from the resorts and hotels. But generally they are okay now. Most of them are relying on generator sets to continue to operate,” she said.

For northern Cebu, the DOT’s main concern is the tourism in Malapascua and Bantayan Island.

Montecillo said the Bantayan Electric Co. vowed to restore power in their area in six months.

“We can’t wait for six months. There are already some using generator sets and we encourage others to also do so,” she said.

Montecillo said they advised the tourists to either postpone their trips or to visit other spots.

“It’s just a matter of giving them correct information and right now we are still collecting data from resorts,” she said.

Montecillo said there are more than 30 resorts in Malapascua while there are 40-50 resorts in Bantayan.