Leyte Governor calls for investors to boost tourism industry in the province

Gov. Icot Petilla

By BRYAN M. AZURA

TACLOBAN CITY – Governor Jericho ‘Icot’ Petilla is calling for investors to influx the province to further boost the tourism sector in Leyte including the rest of the provinces in Eastern Visayas and eventually provide more economic opportunities.

   

In his message during theannual Leyte Provincial & Municipal Tourism Assembly held in this city, he emphasized the need to erect hotels and accommodation centers in his province considering the increasing number of local and foreign tourists visiting the region particularly the province of Leyte.

                

Toto Cinco of the Leyte Provincial Tourism Office, in an interview said that the current number of accommodation centers slowly is becoming insufficient compared to the volume of tourists that come. “We cannot afford to discourage the entry of more tourists purely because there are no rooms for them to stay,” he said.

                 

In the city of Tacloban itself, hotels are fully occupied almost every day even during lean seasons. Department of Tourism (DOT) Region 8 has tallied remarkable increase of tourists in the region in the recent past.

                

 Cinco pointed out that Cebu has become a very popular global tourism hub because of the huge investments poured out in their area. “It does not bear the natural bliss yet because multi-million investments were brought to the region with the creation of 5-star hotels and resorts, landscaping the area became possible,” he stressed.

                 

Meanwhile, the tourism assembly was attended by mayors, tourism officers and Sanggunian Bayan members chairing the Committee on Tourism. Among those that had been tackled in the gathering include the crafting of the annual tourism plan for the entire province and tourism site developments.

                 

Also discussed was the improvement of tourism education in every locality so that people will become tourist-ready. “People in the locality should be taught basic things in receiving tourists such as simply smiling to them,” Cinco said. Educating the people regarding tourism also eradicates exploiting tourists when they come and vice versa,” he continued.

                 

Recently, the Regional Tourism Council took their oath of offices before Undersecretary Victoria Jasmin of DOT. The council through the chairmanship of Aurora Villarente vowed to make a big leap in tourism development in the region with the aid of local government units.