A BIG step towards tourism recovery.
This was how Department of Tourism (DOT) Central Visayas Director Shahlimar Tamano described the move of the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases to relax age restrictions for the tourism industry.
“It’s really a big step. We must control our Covid cases; we shouldn’t forget that no matter what happens. That’s the secret to tourism amid the pandemic. No matter how attractive or marketable your tourism spots are, if people will see that your cases are high, they will stay away,” he said.
Local government units (LGU) may now allow children below 15 years old and senior citizens over 65 years old to travel for tourism purposes in areas under modified general community quarantine.
Tamano said he and the local executives of Lapu-Lapu City lobbied to the regional IATF to further relax age restrictions to allow more members of the family to go out and take a vacation, especially if they plan to do a “staycation” in hotels and resorts.
With the Covid-19 pandemic indefinitely closing international borders, tourism enterprises in the region have greatly suffered as the number of tourists waned.
Because of this, government agencies like the DOT and the trade department have worked to stimulate domestic tourism by slowly opening up tourist destinations to aid displaced tourism workers and struggling businesses.
Hotel, Resort and Restaurant Association of Cebu president Carlo Suarez said they are waiting for the LGU guidelines on this development.
“We look forward to a positive response and the implementation of the lifting of the age restrictions from our LGU,” he said.
Alice Queblatin, president of the Cebu Alliance of Tour Operations Specialists, said they expect the move of the IATF to usher in the much-needed traffic for domestic tourism.
“I believe this is a positive move to stimulate domestic travel. Filipinos by nature travel as one household, children with grandparents. And they take care of each other. Travelling with caution and monitoring each other as one household is most logical,” she said. (JOB)