City to map out tourism masterplan

The City Tourism Office ( CTO) is set to hold an inter-agency meeting on April 30, which its head, Aileen Cynthia Amurao, said will pave the way for the crafting of an updated tourism master plan. Amurao said the planning meeting will be spearheaded by the Department of Tourism (DOT) and will be attended by all stakeholders in the city. “This is to get ideas from national agencies on how to address itong mga kasalukuyang problema natin sa turismo,” she said. Amurao said among the issues they will tackle are the priorities that need to be addressed to further improve the city’s tourism industry. She added that they are also looking at solutions in anticipation of an increase in tourist arrivals. “Ito ay paghahanda natin sa inaasahang influx ng turista mula sa ibang lugar kasama ang Korea at China,” Amurao said. She noted, however, that the tourist attractions in the city still need to have infrastructures and facilities that are considered to be of high standards. She said they are hoping to identify these needs during the meeting. “Parang bitin siya in terms of infrastructure and facilities. Isa ‘ yon sa mga halimbawa na kailangang tugunan ng ating gobyerno like kalsada. Sa meeting na’ to, we are expecting na malaman kung saan ang dapat unahin natin,” Amurao said. She also added the city government is anticipating tourist arrivals to peak at 85,000 monthly visitors as a result of the closure of Boracay. The inter-agency meeting will be held at the Costa Palawan Hotel.