The four (4) Central Visayas (CV) governors are set to meet in order to discuss the possibility of having a common agreement related to the restarting of their respective tourism industries.
According to a report by the Philippine News Agency (PNA), Governors Arthur Yap of Bohol, Gwendolyn Garcia of Cebu, Roel Degamo of Negros Oriental, and Zaldy Villa of Siquijor have agreed to meet on August 12, 2020 in Siquijor province.
Siquijor province is the only area in CV without confirmed Covid positive caae as of this writing.
The CV governors will meet to discuss common concerns regarding tourism and also the eventual reopening of the regional economy.
The meeting will be organized by the Office of the Presidential Adviser for the Visayas (OPAC) in cooperation with the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), Department of Tourism (DOT), Department of Agriculture (DA), and the National Economic Development Authority (NEDA).
Garcia suggested to hold such meeting following a virtual meeting hosted by the OPAC with the CV governors and DTI Asst, Sec. for regional operations Asteria Caberte.
The Cebu governor said it would be best for the 4 island provincial governors “to work together” to agree on the possibility of restarting the tourism industry for domestic tourists.
For its part, Yap said that Bohol is mulling travel bubbles to support the province’s economy as he emphasized that Tourism is the main driver of Bohol’s economy.
The Bohol governor said the province is exploring bilareral agreements related to tourism, the PNA report says.
Travel bubbles or travel corridors are exclusive agreements between neighboring areas which have demonstrated significant success in containing the spread of the SARS-CoV-2, which is the virus causing Covid.
Cebu’s Garcia said that this is the best time for CV provinces to agree on protocols that will be implemented once tourism-related activities are allowed to operate once again.