President Rodrigo Duterte speaks during his visit at the Cebu City Sports Center on January 19, 2020 for the Sinulog Grand Showdown. | CDN file photo
CEBU CITY, Philippines –President Rodrigo Duterte is set to visit some of the country’s popular places for tourists, including Cebu, to help boost local tourism amid the threats of the 2019 novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV).
State-ran media outlet, Philippine News Agency (PNA), announced this in their late-night broadcast on Tuesday, February 11, 2020.
PNA quoted Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat saying that the President wants to travel in Boracay, Cebu, and Bohol, to name some, to show that the country is safe for tourism activities.
Screenshot of PNA’s Broadcast on February 11, 2020, announcing President Rodrigo Duterte’s plans to visit popular tourist areas in the country to help boost local tourism
On February 11, Mr. Duterte, together with DOT, met with tourism stakeholders, including top executives from airline companies, to discuss plans on boosting local tourism ‘as means to mitigate the effects of the ongoing global health emergency’ situation.
Some of the measures being pushed were to encourage local hoteliers and resort establishments to lower booking rates, and for airline companies to offer seat sales.
READ: DOT urges LGUs to hold out-of-town seminars to boost tourism
As of February 11, the Department of Health (DOH) recorded 322 patients under investigation (PUI) in the country since January 12, 2020. 266 of them are still admitted in various state-ran hospitals.
There are three confirmed cases of patients – all Chinese tourists – who contracted the 2019-nCoV, the virus that causes the Corona Virus Disease (COVID-19) in the Philippines.
Two of them were already discharged while one died after succumbing to severe pneumonia due to the virus.
Boracay and Cebu are among the top destinations for foreign travelers, based on latest report on the tourism industry performance from DOT.
READ: DOT: Cebu was 2nd top foreign tourists’ destination in 2019
President Duterte earlier visited Cebu last January during the 2020 Sinulog Festival. /bmjo