Correspondent Crissy Dimatulac contributed to this report.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, March 4) — President Rodrigo Duterte will kick off his tour of the country’s top spots to help boost local tourism with a trip to Boracay this month, the Department of Tourism said Wednesday.
Tourism Secretary Berna Romulo-Puyat said the President will visit the world-famous island on March 12. It will be his first visit to Boracay since its shutdown for rehabilitation in 2018.
“March 12, inaanyayahan namin kayo. Pupunta si Presidente Duterte sa Boracay [we are inviting you. President Rodrigo Duterte will go to Boracay] for the first time since it opened to show that it is safe,” said Puyat in a media briefing.
Earlier, the DOT said it was lining up different tourist spots for Duterte to visit in a bid to improve local tourism amid a slump in visitor arrivals due to the global coronavirus outbreak. DOT mentioned Bohol and Cebu among the President’s planned destinations.
The Philippines is seen to lose an estimated ₱42.9 billion for the first four months of the year, according to DOT. The government imposed travel bans to mainland China, Macau, Hong Kong and South Korea’s North Gyeongsang province to prevent local spread of coronavirus infections known as COVID-19, badly affecting the tourism industry.
Several events such as concerts of international artists and local festivals were also canceled as a precautionary measure.
The secretary said the agency will allot P6 billlion for international and domestic promotions and regional tourism development. An example would be its new campaign on popular video-sharing app TikTok where snippets of the country’s tourist spots are shown using the tag “#gocreateph.”
Puyat said discounts from airlines and hotels will also continue until April. DOT will also push through with its travel trade shows to areas with fewer cases of COVID-19 such as Western Europe, Middle East, Russia and Indonesia.
Part of the budget will also be for training of stakeholders on preparedness, response and protocols amid the virus outbreak, she added.
