UN world tourism body’s plan to spur more growth in Bohol

Dr. Taleb Rifai, United Nations World Tourism Organization secretary general, leads a team to assess the damage the Sta. Monica Church of Alburquerque town in Bohol suffered from last October’s earthquake. (CDN PHOTO/TONEE DESPOJO)

Bohol’s tourism industry got a big  boost from the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) after  it turned over its  Bohol Recovery Plan to the provincial government.
The recovery plan should put the island in a more advanced state that should fuel more growth for the island’s tourism industry, said Dr. Taleb B. Rifai, UNWTO secretary general, during the turnover ceremony last Friday in Bohol.

Rifai led the UNWTO team to inspect last Friday the areas damaged by last October’s 7.2 magnitude earthquake, which also damaged several tourist spots in Bohol.

In his speech during the turnover of the plan to Bohol Gov. Edgar Chatto, Rifai said that recovery is all about “restoring hope and confidence” and is not about bringing things back to the way they were but to a more advance level.

“It is about turning these challenges, the devastations brought about by the calamity, into an opportunity to rebuild better and more sustainable community,” he said.

“And tourism is very much connected to recovery because it is the industry that brings back hope, it is the most powerful tool for people to reconnect,” he added.

Rifai was particularly impressed with the Loboc River Cruise because of the way the local community gathered and worked together to make the tourism product work.

“It’s the simplicity of the food, the children singing and dancing and interacting with the tourists, the human element in this experience is very excellent. One can ride in the most sophisticated boats with the most trained crew and a lavish setting but one can’t find something in there that will touch you the same way that the Loboc River Cruise experience touched me,” he said.

“Your people are your treasure. It is not very common to find this very positive, open and content society that makes you feel really welcome, that is what tourists look for.”

THE PLAN
The plan according to Rifai includes three main areas which are rebuilding of the damaged infrastructure, restoring the perception of the global travel and tourism community, and skills training for the local tourism players.

The plan includes details on how a damaged tourism product can be restored and furthered developed into something that will stir more growth in tourist traffic.

Among the sites they visited is the Sta. Monica Church in Alburquerque, Bohol, which they plan to restore. They also plan to develop an accommodations segment in the area beside the church similar to what has been done in Spain.

The 200 meters of land that rose up after the earthquake in Maribojoc will also be developed into a “geoscience tours” area and the “Great Wall of Bohol” that stretches five kilometers in Inabanga.

Rifai said that on perception recovery, the Bohol case has actually gained the respect of the global community because of the way quick response of the local government on getting the community back on track.

“Among the important strategies is to make sure the whole world knows what you are doing so that they will know that you are once again open for business,” he said adding that it has helped Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand recover from past calamities.

The plan covers a period until 2016.