SAN JUAN, Abra– The Turismo Isulong Mo Party-list group believes that the country’s tourism industry is now recovering from the serious negative impact of the ongoing Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) following the decline of the number of cases, coupled with the easing up of the restrictions that paved the way for the movement of people.
Former Mayor Marco Bautista, the Turismo Isulong Mo Party-list’s second nominee who is based in the Cordillera and Northern Luzon, stated that the eagerness of people to move around following the over 2 years of being confined in their residences will definitely help in gradually and safely reviving the heavily impacted tourism industry that can generate more jobs and economic activities in the communities.
He pointed out that the noticeable increase of visitors to various tourist destinations in the different parts of the country is a good sign there is a good chance for the timely revival of the tourism industry that had been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
However, The Turismo Isulong Mo nominee underscored it is still important for tourism-related establishments that had been allowed to operate to strictly enforce the compliance of their guests to the minimum public health standards to avoid infections that might compromise the initial gains that had been achieved with the gradual and safe revival of the country’s economy.
According to him, travelers should always observe the health and safety protocols being enforced by local governments and establishments to prevent the incidents that might trigger surges in cases that will compromise the local health care system and unduly stress the frontliners.
The Turismo Isulong Mo is listed as No. 156 in the order of the party-list groups allowed by the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) to aspire for the seats allocated for qualified party-list organizations in the House of Representatives in the May 9, 2022 synchronized national and local elections.
Bautista claimed there has been enormous movement of people after the inter-agency task force for the management of emerging infectious diseases placed under Alert Level 1 the National Capital Region (NCR) and some 38 other areas from March 1-15, 2022 as part of easing up the restrictions on the movement of people to revive the economy.
The party-list nominee asserted that the Philippines is similarly situated with other countries that started the revival of their respective economies through tourism-related activities so that people will be enticed to move around and help in gradually and safely reviving the heavily impacted local economies with jobs and activities that will bring back the vibrance of the country’s economy.
Bautista stipulated that with the projected reinvigoration of the tourism industry, people who lost their jobs can recover from their losses caused by more than two years of loss of income.
