THE Department of Tourism (DOT) in Davao Region is preparing for the reopening of tourism establishments as majority of the provinces in the region are now under modified general community quarantine (MGCQ).
DOT-Davao Director Tanya Rabat-Tan said on Friday, June 5, that they are ironing out the recovery program intended to all tourism stakeholders.
"DOT is busy preparing our stakeholders, particularly the establishments because most of our provinces are already on MGCQ which means most of them can already operate. We are helping everyone prepare for the new normal," she said at the sidelines of the simulation of resumption of flights in Davao International Airport.
According to the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) Resolution 43, operations of establishments for accommodation purposes are now authorized.
Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said on Thursday, June 4, that these establishments are hotels, resorts, apartment hotels, tourist inns, motels, pension houses, private homes used for homestay, ecolodges, serviced apartments, condotels and bed and breakfast facilities can now operate while the country still grapples with coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19).
But Tan emphasized that accommodation establishments may open only upon the issuance of a certificate of authority to operate by the tourism department.
In a previous report, she said the agency is hoping that the proposed P1.3 trillion Accelerated Recovery and Investments Stimulus for the Economy (Arise) bill will be approved as it will fund the tourism response and recovery program proposed by the department.
Under the proposed bill, a P58 billion budget will be earmarked for tourism recovery programs.
In order to help the industry recover, Tan said the agency has focused on equipping its stakeholders with digital marketing knowledge and crisis management.
Meanwhile, Tan said tourist arrivals in the region in the first quarter of 2020 decreased by 50.91 percent to 774,857 from 1,578,356 tourist arrivals in the same period in 2019.
"This is expected because tourism is really one of the major affected industries due to the Covid-19 pandemic because all tourism activities were forced to stop," she added.