BONTOC, Mountain Province – The provincial government is pinning its hopes on the local tourism industry to help in gradually and safely reviving the heavily impacted economy towards sustainable growth and development in the various parts of the province in the coming years.
Gov. Bonifacio C. Lacwasan, Jr. stated that tourism had been heavily impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic but it also seems to be the sector that can easily recover this time as people are eager to travel around the country, and in particular, the province, to see the developments in the various tourist spots in the province after being restricted in their movements in more than two years.
He claimed that Mountain Province is expected to benefit from the desire of people to move around to visit tourist destinations that will pave the way for the gradual and safe revival of the local tourism industry.
The governor pointed out that while tourism in the province has already started to open, the compliance of tourists and residents alike to the minimum public health standards is still mandated to ensure that there will be no surges in COVID-19 cases that can negate the ongoing gains of recovery efforts.
According to him, the province’s tourism destinations are ready for visitors who will have to comply with the minimum public health standards as part of the community quarantine restrictions while most parts of the country are still on Alert Level 1 based on the latest pronouncements from the health department.
Lacwasan stipulates that the province’s tourist destinations and tourism establishments are ready to accept visitors as they had been preparing for the new normal over the past 2 years that the series of lockdowns had been implemented to contain the rapid spread of the deadly virus.
Further, he added there are also new tourist destinations that were developed since the implementation of the series of lockdowns which is a good indication on the possible robust growth of the industry that will translate to the revival of the local economy until it regains its pre-pandemic vibrance and even surpasses it.
Mountain Province has numerous tourist destinations such as the famous caving destinations in Sagada, trekking destinations in Bauko, Sabangan, Tadian, Bontoc and Barlig, culture and arts attractions in the different municipalities, among others, that pull foreigners and locals to visit the province.
He encouraged foreign and domestic tourists to include the various tourist destinations in the province as part of their must-see destinations when scheduling their well-deserved breaks.