Chief Tourism Operations Officer Judy Gabato of the Department of Tourism in Central Visayas (right) explains the tourism industry’s contributions to the country’s gross domestic product (GDP). | CDN Digital photo / Jasmin Meode, CTU Intern
CEBU CITY, Philippines — The creation of the Negros Island Region (NIR) will not affect efforts to further boost tourism initiatives in Central Visayas.
This was according to Judy Gabato, the Chief Tourism Operations Officer of the Department of Tourism in the region (DOT-7).
“It [NIR] doesn’t affect at all, because [of] one thing, Cebu, we have the international gateway, including Bohol,” Gabato said in a news forum on Thursday, July 11.
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The Mactan-Cebu International Airport (MCIA), which is the second busiest airport in the country, serves as the main gateway to Central Visayas (Region 7).
Gabato said that MCIA caters to 1,836 flights weekly. Of these, 1,470 are domestic flights while 366 are international flights to Qatar, Dubai, Korea, Thailand, Singapore, Japan, Hong Kong, among others.
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Negros Island Region
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. signed on June 13 the law creating the NIR.
The Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) is expected to draft the Internal Rules and Regulations (IRR) within 60 days.
READ: Negros leaders want NIR to be operational before end of 2024
Gabato said that efforts to further boost tourism in the region will continue even with the separation of Negros Oriental and Siquijor provinces that would now form part of the NIR.
“But to complement, the beautiful island of Negros and Siquijor will always be part…All the destinations in the Philippines, we promote equally,” Gabato said.
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CV’s tourism initiatives
So far, Gabato said that tourism initiatives in Cebu and Bohol provinces have been very successful.
These include the implementation of Tourism Roads Infrastructure Program (TRIP) in collaboration with the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH).
An allocation of at least P6.3 billion had been set aside for the construction and improvement of roads to tourist destinations in Central Visayas. The allocation also includes the paving of 155 km of existing roads.
In addition, DOT-7 has partnered with the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) to provide free wifi access to tourists who are visiting the towns of Badian, Bantayan, Daanbantayan, Moalboal, Alegria, and San Francisco in Cebu.
Gabato said that DOT-7 has also established five tourist rest areas in Central Visayas, located in Dauis in Bohol and Carcar City, Moalboal, Medellin and Carmen in Cebu.
The DOT-7 official said it is important to continue to develop tourism sites, not just in Central Visayas, but in the rest of the Philippines, since tourism contributes 8.6 percent to the country’s gross domestic product (GDP).