DOT Eastern Visayas Regional Director Karina Rosa Tiopes said the
ongoing consultation is the main activity in drafting the new plan for tourism,
one of priority sectors identified by the Regional Development Council as
economic growth drivers.
“We need to consult because this is everybody’s plan. For everyone, to
be on board, we have to listen to them. We have plans, but plans are dynamic
given the development happening since we drafted the old plan in 2011. We need
to see where we are and what have we have done so far,” Tiopes said.
Included in the consultation are local government units, affected
communities, tour operators, hotel owners, restaurant management,
transportation services and other establishments that offer tourism-related
services.
The ongoing activity will also help the tourism stakeholders come up
with a subplan for each of the seven tourism development areas (TDAs).
The TDAs identified in the 2009 Central Philippines tourism super region
management plan are the Samar-Leyte Interface (Tacloban-Basey), Northwestern
Leyte (Ormoc), Northern Leyte (Biliran), Southeastern Samar Island (Guiuan),
Southern Leyte (Sogod Bay Area), and Northwestern Samar (Catarman).
“Each TDA will have their own priorities. They have to make a
consensus,” she added.
Coming up with a new plan will be done within the year for
implementation in 2017 to 2022, according to Tiopes.
Tiopes said the region is on track of hitting its target under the
existing tourism development plan. In that roadmap, Eastern Visayas is eyeing
705,698 tourist arrivals by this year, targeting domestic visitors from three
regions and foreign tourist from Europe and other five countries.
Of the target number, 658,686 are domestic and 47,103 are foreigners.
The sectoral plan targets tourist from within the region, Central Visayas, and
National Capital Region. Target foreign tourists are from USA, Australia,
Japan, Europe, Korea, and China. (PNA)
JMC/SARWELL Q. MENIANO
JMC/SARWELL Q. MENIANO
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