by Ruel B. Francisco December 19, 2020 TRECE MARTIRES CITY, Cavite - More than 60 tourism officers, planning coordinators, disaster risk red...
December 19, 2020
TRECE MARTIRES CITY, Cavite - More than 60 tourism officers, planning coordinators, disaster risk reduction officers, and tourism stakeholders in the province virtually convened recently for the formulation of the local tourism crisis management plan.
The workshop aimed to address the need for synchronized actions and responses for economic recovery particularly with the tourism industry that was heavily affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.
In behalf of Governor Jonvic Remulla, Provincial Administrator for Community Affairs Alvin Mojica welcomed the participants and urged for a stronger public-private partnership towards business resiliency, especially for the hospitality and service industry.
Resource person Mr. Ramon Tiongco, Jr., Tourism Operations Officer, Planning and Standards Division of the Department of Tourism (DOT), with expertise on planning and information management system presented some planning tools and tasked participants to identify programs, projects and activities needed to achieve thematic outcomes or goals for tourism recovery and rehabilitation.
Several output from the tasks include securing livelihood and adequate social services to protect visitors and tourism workers; sutstaining business operations to ensure business survival; building a more sustainable and resilient tourism industry thorugh appropriate infrastructure and policy, and restoring the industry's confidence by enhanced marketing and product development.
During the workshop, the participants assessed the risks and came up with recommendations geared for the province's recovery and resiliency such as financial assistance, loan programs, technical and skills trainings, business opportunity plans, and establishment of tourist information centers, quarantine facility and tourism hotline.
Other speakers who gave additional inputs include: Provincial Epidemiology and Surveillance Unit Representative Dr. Nelson Soriano, underscored the importance of maintaining a health business operation and having a workplace coordinator for safety while Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Provincial Director Lionel Dalope, highlighted the salient features of the IATF guidelines for tourism businesses.
Meanwhile, Department of Trade and Industry (DTI)-Cavite OIC-Provincial Director Revelyn Cortez, presented DTI's online training programs and webinars, including the Small Business Corporation (SB Corp.) loan assistance program that can help MSMEs and small tourism businesses recover.
Provincial Tourism Officer Rozelle Sangalang discussed data on the impact of the Taal Volcano eruption and the COVID-19 pandemic to the tourism industry in Cavite.
Based on the reports and the regional assessment of the DOT, there's really an urgency to build public-private partnerships and linkages for crisis response and recovery management; to develop guidelines and measures to promptly respond to any crisis situation and minimize the impacts to the tourists and the destinations, thus the crafting of a Tourism Crisis Management Plan for the province.
Sangguniang Panlalawigan Chairperson for Committee on Tourism, Culture, Arts and Public Information, Board Member Jeffrey Asistio, expressed his support to regain tourists' confidence and help rebuild the image of Cavite tourism.
Asistio also revealed that he will soon launch his vlog featuring the unique culture and tourist attactions in the province through his Facebook page, Jeff Asistio-Official as a form of content marketing to help Cavite tourism bounce back.
Concluding the online workshop, Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Officer Eloisa Rozul imparted the key components to a sound crisis management plan which include knowing the risks and its impacts, plotting concrete activities, communicating with stakeholders and implementing the response plan. (Rochelle D. Bawalan, Tourism Operations Officer II)
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