Ask tourists to visit other PH sites: DOT

Instead of accepting upfront the travel cancellations whenever there are untoward incidents, an official of Department of Tourism (DOT) 7 suggested working with other regions to persuade tourists to travel elsewhere in the country.

DOT 7 Officer-in-Charge Judy Gabato said she is eyeing a sisterhood agreements with the DOT offices of Cagayan de Oro, Surigao, and Davao to create a solid partnership that would boost each community’s tourism industry, especially amid threats.

Gabato said that while travel cancellations are normal during times when safety and security appear to be at high risk, stakeholders in the travel and tourism sector should view this as an opportunity to help one other.

“If there would be cancellations (in a particular island, or destination), instead of giving tourists a refund, our stakeholders can suggest to redirect them to other destinations with which the region has a sisterhood partnership,” Gabato said.

The DOT 7 has already crafted the sisterhood agreement. Gabato will meet with the heads of the different DOT offices in Mindanao to go over it.

The agreement also calls on the different partners to send representatives of their tourism organizations to conduct product assessment, say, for instance, in Cebu. Gabato said her team will be composed of different stakeholders from Cebu, Bohol, Negros and Siquijor.

Bohol last month suffered from travel cancellations due to the presence of members of the Abu Sayyaf in a few towns of the island-province. Bohol is now slowly getting back on its feet. Davao City, on the other hand, has reported losses reaching P20 million from the cancellations of bookings in hotel rooms and event spaces, due to the declaration of martial law in Mindanao.