TOURISM Sec. Bernadette Romulo-Puyat is hopeful that the tourism industry will emerge stronger from the pandemic this 2022.

Romulo-Puyat expressed this New Year’s wish on her Instagram Page.

The DOT chief’s post reads: “My hope remains the same, and that is for the tourism industry to bounce back and emerge stronger from this crisis. I hope that the coming year will be full of breakthroughs and successes. I pray that we all keep on braving the tides and rising through the ashes amidst all the challenges that continue to come our way.”

The tourism industry has been hit hard by the pandemic but will hopefully recover soon.

Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo Puyat made tourism recovery her wish for this brand New Year. The tourism chief posted her hopes for 2022 on her Instagram page.

“My hope remains the same, and that is for the tourism industry to bounce back and emerge stronger from this crisis,” she wrote on Instagram.

Puyat also said she hopes 2022 will be “full of breakthroughs and successes.”

The local travel and tourism sector has been disrupted by the pandemic lockdowns that limited the movement of people in recent months. The industry lost billions in potential income while many were displaced due to the slide in tourism tourism.

Earlier, Romulo-Puyat said she sees “revenge travel” manifesting across all markets of the Philippine tourism industry. And in the wake of disconnect and economic hardships brought about by the pandemic, Filipinos are likely to travel “more consciously”.

The DOT has vowed to pivot towards sustainable tourism development models, with focus on providing guests with high-quality experiences rather than mass tourism and short-term gains.

With no certain date yet as to when the country will open its borders for foreign leisure travelers, the DOT believes domestic tourists will continue to be the main tourism growth driver next year.

Apart from them, the DOT said it will tap into the growing workation market, seeing that remote work is likely to stay throughout and even after the pandemic.

“The trend was something that came along as a need by employees who worked from home during the pandemic, yet also needed the time to take a break and recover from cabin fever. We are confident that with the increasing prominence of remote work, this trend will linger on even after the pandemic,” Romulo-Puyat said.

But if the Philippines reopens, she said foreign tourists can be rest assured that health and safety protocols would be in place.

“The DOT yields to the wisdom of our health experts and we fully understand the need to protect the health and well being of the rest of the country, especially now that we have started to see the light at the end of the tunnel,” she said.

‘Odette devastation’

Meanwhile, the DOT is working on a “rehabilitation and recovery” plan following the devastation of Super Typhoon Odette, which has affected several tourist destinations, including Bohol, Camiguin, Cebu, Negros Oriental and Occidental, Palawan, Siargao, and Southern Leyte.

Romulo-Puyat said the plan will focus on addressing immediate concerns of affected tourism workers, such as cash-for-work or alternative livelihood programs and the reconstruction of affected facilities of various enterprises.

The agency, through the Tourism Promotions Board, is also facilitating the delivery of relief goods and basic necessities to Cebu, Siargao, Tacloban, Palawan, and Negros Oriental.

Cash donations from tourism stakeholders were also given to affected establishments and DOT Regional Offices. In addition, the DOT is in close coordination with the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) for financial assistance.

In Siargao, Romulo-Puyat said the DOT together with the Makati Med Foundation will continue with the vaccination program for tourism workers, and at the same time see to the immediate medical needs of the community.

“The Department hopes to provide an inventory of the damage as soon as power and communication lines have been restored. For the time being, the Department is exhausting all means to help the local government units provide the immediate needs of those affected by the typhoon,” she said.

“We stand behind with our kababayans and our tourism stakeholders from Visayas and Mindanao in these difficult times,” she added. With Philippine News Agency