Gov. Arthur Yap is saying that “confidence” is a key factor that needs to be fulfilled for the reopening of Bohol’s world-renowned tourism industry.
He said the visitors to the province should have the confidence that they will not get the virus when they visit Bohol and the local folks are confident, too, that the visitors will not be causing health problems considering the Covid is a pandemic affecting a vast majority of countries and territories in the world.
The governor reacted to the question of The Bohol Tribune managing editor Ardy Araneta-Batoy during the media teleconference on Friday, with Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO) Sec. Martin Andanar.
Batoy is one of two Bohol media personalities invited to interact with Andanar and Yap in the said media teleconference..
The governor said that remittances from overseas Filipino workers (OFW) and from the tourism industry are the two revenue drivers of Bohol.
Yap, in the same interaction, said when the lockdown happened Bohol felt how important tourism is.
He noted the transportation sector has been affected badly with the tourism industry shutting down due to the lockdown in relation to the province’s Covid response.
The governor said in order to reopen the tourism industry, the visitors must feel safe when visiting Bohol.
The visitors must know that Bohol has the proper medical protocols and policies to give them protection and ensure safety during their stay in the province.
At the same time, the local residents must be confident enough to receive the visitors here with the help of the right medical protocols.
Without confidence from both the visitors and the local residents, Bohol should not rush things to reopen the tourism industry.
Moreover, the governor said the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) laboratories and contact tracing system are integral parts of the opening of the tourism industry here, hence the testing will determine who will be isolated or not as the contact tracing is important in finding out who got infected and needs to be isolated.
It is important, the governor added, that the PCR laboratories are operational before Bohol starts accepting tourists.
Yap bared that the “containerized” PCR laboratory procured by the provincial government is expected to be operational by July 15, 2020.
He hopes that the molecular laboratory inside Gov. Celestino Gallares Memorial Hospital (GCGMH) will also be available for testing by July 2020.
Yap bared that the Department of Tourism (DoT) is working on travel corridors or travel bubbles with bilateral agreements between the Philippines and another country or territory.
He also said that there is a need to ensure that the country or territory that the Philippines will have an agreement with should have a splendid record in terms of containing the Covid problem.
He said the country which will have a travel corridor or travel bubble with Bohol should have a good level of Covid infection management at par with what Bohol has done to contain the Covid infection.
In the same interview, the governor said that before Bohol can open itself to tourists, there is a need to improve the waste management, and water supply in tourism areas.
It is critical that social distancing rules are followed when the tourism-related businesses open up for visitors.
For his part, Andanar, is pleased and optimistic to hear the plans of Bohol’s provincial government in terms of reopening the province for tourism soon.
PANGLAO REOPENS TOURISM-RELATED BUSINESSES
The town of Panglao is reopening today, Sunday, June 21, 2020, the tourism-related businesses.
A short program will be held on Sunday afternoon around 2 pm at Barangay Tawala, the information from the town government said.
On Friday, Yap said that as long as the town can come up with guidelines and rules consistent with the directives of the Inter Agency Task Force (IATF), he doesn’t see any problem about the reopening of tourism-related businesses in Panglao.
Panglao mayor Leonila Montero reiterated the need to follow the guidelines. She is willing that the town will be subjected to inspections.
According to the information received by The Bohol Tribune from the local government unit (LGU) of Panglao, four categories of tourism-related businesses are allowed to reopen and they are accommodation establishments, sea and land transport, restaurants, and tourism-related activities.
The LGU produced booklets stipulating guidelines for the operation of each sector, the information from the town said.
The same information bared that the Panglao guidelines are compliant with the directives of the IATF, Department of Health (DoH) Department of Tourism (DoT), and the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG).
The Bohol Tribune learned that the reopened businesses in Panglao will cater to local patrons as tourists from outside the province are not yet allowed to enter Bohol.
So, today, June 21, 2020, a short program will be held for the soft reopening of the tourism-related businesses and Gov. Arthur Yap is expected to grace the occasion.
The same program also lists as guests Panglao Councilor Amira Montero-Caindec, the chairperson of the Sangguniang Bayan Committee on Tourism, DoT’s Jaypee Orcullo and Bohol Tourism Office head Josephine Cabarrus.