ROADS and attractions in the province of Bohol have reopened and a recovery plan for Cebu and Bohol is in the works, as the region’s tourism industry gets back on track following the recent earthquake disaster.
According to a statement issued by the Philippines’ Department of Tourism (DoT), attractions such as the Loboc River Cruise, Tarsier Habitat and Chocolate Hills Adventure Park have begun welcoming visitors once again.
Roads leading to tourist places of interest are also now passable, with roads from Tagbilaran City to Carmen via Corella already open to cars and vans.
The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has pledged to support the recovery of Bohol and Cebu through the development of a recovery plan.
The plan includes a communication strategy to bring back the confidence of domestic and international travellers and of the communities, the assessment of tourism infrastructure and assets to be prioritised for rehabilitation by agencies concerned, international donors, development partners, national and local government agencies, and the private sector.
It also extends to product development for new tourism circuits, governance programmes, and long-term initiatives to sustain growth, mitigate risk of crises and increase preparedness of tourism destinations in the event of disasters such as the recent earthquake (TTG Asia e-Daily, October 16, 2013).
DoT has postponed the United Nations World Tourism Organization’s 5th World Ecotourism Conference, originally scheduled to take place in Cebu and Bohol between November 13 and 15, to 1Q2014 (TTG Asia e-Daily, October 30, 2013).
