Durano to replicate DOT program in Cebu province

CEBU, Philippines —  Cebu gubernatorial aspirant Joseph Felix Mari “Ace” Durano hopes to kick-start the ailing tourism industry with a Cebu Priority Recovery (CPR) program that will tap the successful programs he had during his term as secretary of the Department of Tourism.

Durano said that the CPR program hopes to bring back foreign tourists safely to Cebu at the earliest time to jump start the economy.

“We have discussions about this with the different business groups and they are fully behind the goal. There are existing models we can apply here so we can achieve this without compromising the health and safety of everyone,” said Durano in a press statement.

Durano said that when he was then DOT secretary from 2004-2010, he has implemented the Grassroots Entrepreneurs for Ecotourism (GREET) program in 2005, which gave grants between P50,000 and P100,000 to individuals or groups who can present a viable plan to develop an eco-tourism site got a startup capital between P50,000 and P100,000.

Durano said he wants to replicate this for the CPR program but eyes grants as much as P1 million.

Durano, whose term as DOT secretary saw a 53.6 percent increase in tourist arrivals in the country, said that aside from individuals, local government units can apply for grants under the CPR.

The former fifth district congressman said Cebu has so many potential eco-tourism sites not just the waterfalls but also includes hiking trails, mountain trails or camping spots.

He said that this is not just for new players who can come up with new ideas to help tourism in Cebu but the current players also who are struggling due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We know tourism in the Philippines, especially in Cebu, has really struggled due to the lack of incoming flights and I know this program will really give them a much needed financial boost,” he added.

Durano further said that this is a worthwhile investment since aside from generating jobs to those directly involved, this will have a trickle-down effect and benefit other players of the tourism industry, farmers, fishermen, souvenir producers and sellers, transport, hotels, resorts and restaurants.

Meanwhile, DOT Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat has issued an Advisory No. 14 series of 2021 directed to all DOT-accredited accommodation establishments to submit all their staff/employees to the vaccination program against COVID-19, at the soonest possible time.

“As the year draws to close and the holiday seasons are fast approaching, the DOT is hoping to reopen more tourism destinations and establishments, not just to offer more leisure options to travelling Filipinos, but also to provide a more stable livelihood to all our affected tourism workers,” the advisory reads.

With this, the DOT hopes for the full cooperation among these establishments to attain its goal of vaccinating all active tourism workers in the country by the end of the year so that the tourism industry will finally be reopened in the near future.

The DOT together with the Inter-Agency Task Force for Emerging Infectious Diseases has been spearheading vaccination rollouts in top tourism destinations in the country like Cebu, Boracay, Bohol, Palawan, Baguio and Davao.  — GMR (FREEMAN)