MANILA: The United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) has committed to support the Philippines’ tourism-related rehabilitation programme for areas affected by the powerful earthquake that rocked Bohol and Cebu on October 15.
In a statement posted on its website, the UNWTO said it had transmitted to the Philippine government its commitment to support the Department of Tourism (DOT) “in any tourism-related recovery programme to be designed for the affected areas.”
“UNWTO is confident that with the dynamic leadership of the government of the Philippines, Cebu and Bohol, both important tourism destinations, will soon recover from this tragic occurrence and continue to play their significant role in tourism growth to the country,” it said.
The group also expressed its sympathy to those who were affected by the devastation.
“Our thoughts at this difficult moment are with the families and friends of the victims and the government and people of Philippines,” said UNWTO secretary-general Taleb Rifai.
“The livelihood of many people in these destinations depends on the tourism sector and UNWTO stands ready to support the Philippines in ensuring the tourism in these areas continues to thrive,” he said.
Earlier, the DOT said that based on its assessment, the impact of the 7.2 magnitude earthquake to Cebu and Bohol’s tourism efforts would be minimal.
“So far, there is minimal effect on (tourism) traffic as we have reassured travel markets that tourism will normalise soon,” Tourism Secretary Ramon Jimenez Jr said in a text message.
Jimenez, however, said they could not yet provide an estimate on the revenue impact of the calamity in these provinces.
“Disruption is momentary and we expect that Cebu and Bohol, with their very long list of tourism offerings, will regain momentum in no time at all,” he said.
He added that his office would be lending support to the lead agencies that would carry out the rehabilitation of the damaged cultural heritage sites.
“The National Commission for Culture and the Arts, National Museum and National Historical Commission of the Philippines are leading the rehabilitation efforts. DOT will support them,” Jimenez said.
In a travel advisory posted on its Facebook page last Tuesday, the DOT office in Central Visayas appealed to the traveling public to put off any travel plans to areas affected by the earthquake.
It noted that the most hard hit by the quake were the heritage churches of Bohol and Cebu.
Data from the DOT showed that Cebu is one of the top tourist destinations in the country.
With over 1.9 million tourists (872,397 foreign and 1.1 million domestic), Cebu registered the fourth largest volume of tourists in 2011, 12 percent higher than the 1.77 million posted in 2010.
The Philippine Star
