“We have more than 200 destinations across the region that is now serving both our domestic and foreign tourist, hopefully we will pick up, with the alert level classifications downgraded and with the eradication of the virus,” Giselle Machutes, DOT-9 Supervising Tourism Operations Officer said.

DOT-9 reported that the rate of the number of tourists recorded first quarter of this year have increased to about 30 percent compared last year. DOT also said that within 2 to 3 years the tourism will have a complete recovery after the pandemic since the tourism in ZamPen is gradually picking up and things are getting back to normal.

Aside from that, they will be starting with the enhancement of the five-year Regional Tourism Development Plan and the conduct of more training programs for stakeholders and tourism establishments.

DOT-9 still reminds the tourist to strictly follow the minimum public health standards and safety protocols. However, DOT assured that accredited establishments are compliant with the minimum health and safety protocols, and are also compliant with the guidelines issued by Department of Health and the National Inter-Agency Task Force.

“We would like to invite everyone to come and visit ZamPen, we assure safety to tourists and experience the diverse culture of ZamPen,” Matchutes added. (RVC/EDT/MLE/OOJ/PIA9-Zamboanga City)