Bohol is expected to unfold, through an online forum tomorrow (May 23, 2021) its battle plan to revive the tourism economy in the province which is severely affected by the Coronavirus disease pandemic.
Key officials from both the national and provincial governments are expected to grace the said online forum bannered by Tourism Sec. Bernadette Romulo-Puyat and Inter Agency Task Force (IATF) chief implementer and vaccine czar Sec. Carlito Galvez.
The forum is expected to focus on the prospects for Bohol tourism. According to information gathered by The Bohol Tribune, the forum is entitled “Prospects for Bohol Tourism in the Context of Current Realities in the War against Covid-19”.
Puyat, will talk about the state of the tourism re-opening initiatives and strategies. It is expected that the plans for Bohol tourism moving forward will be discussed in the forum by the Tourism Secretary, herself.
Bohol has been in the center of effort from the Department of Tourism (DOT) in terms of gradually re-opening the local tourism industry to tourists.
Despite the pandemic, the local hotels, restaurants and other tourism-related establishments remain open.
However, due to lockdowns in Metro Manila, Bohol tourism has been suffering tremendously after tourists from the capital city cancelled their bookings as they are unable to leave the National Capital Region (NCR) during the days when the country was observing the Holy Week. During that time, the IATF, placed the NCR and some nearby provinces under the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ).
In tomorrow’s forum, tourism stakeholders in Bohol expect the unravelling of the prospects for Bohol tourism, an industry hugely impacted by the events happening in the NCR where most tourists come from.
Before the NCR lockdown around April this year, Bohol launched a “Balik sa Bohol” online sale where local tourism establishments such as hotels and restaurants offered huge discounts to tourists.
However, most of the bookings were cancelled as most of the tourists are from NCR and they were barred from travelling due to the ECQ.
At this time, it is clear that there is a need for Bohol to chart its own path and to lower its reliance on markets that can be locked down in a moment’s notice like what happened in NCR.
Earlier, Gov. Arthur Yap has proposed for a bilateral agreement with regional destinations in a bubble concept. Bohol, according to Yap, plans to forge a pact with key international destinations with similar Covid situation as Bohol’s.
This will only materialize, the governor says, if the national government allows the provincial government to forge bilateral pacts with key international destinations.
AIRLINE INDUSTRY SPEAKS AT THE FORUM
In the same forum tomorrow, Ricardo Isla, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Air Asia; Jose Alejandro Reyes, Head of Strategy of Cebu Pacific; and Gilbert Sta. Maria, President and Chief Operating Officer (COO) of Philippine Airlines are expected to reveal the state of air travel and to pitch their ideas on how to bring travellers safely to their destinations in the context of the pandemic.
VACCINES AS THE KEY TO TOURISM RE-OPENING
Galvez, for his part, is expected to share information about the state of the vaccine rollout and perhaps touch on the prospects of prioritizing Bohol in the vaccine implementation.
To recall, Yap, in a letter dated Apr. 10, 2021, asked Puyat to prioritize Bohol in the vaccine rollout. The governor believes that the sooner the Boholanos are vaccinated, the earlier the tourists will be encouraged to visit the province knowing they are in a place where the risk of contracting Covid is low.
In another letter dated Apr. 23, 2021, Galvez assured Yap of his support to the latter’s request for Bohol and endorsed the governor’s suggestion to the Department of Health (DOH).
PRIVATE SECTOR RESPONSE ON VACCINE ROLLOUT
Towards the tail end of the forum tomorrow, Presidential Adviser on Entrepreneurship, Sec. Joey Concepcion, will talk about the private sector’s response in relation to the vaccine rollout in the country.