Post-lockdown tourism: Tolentino wants to expedite accreditation process for hotels

By JOHN CARLO M. CAHINHINAN

Administration Senator Francis Tolentino has urged government agencies to expedite the accreditation process of hotels to help jumpstart the country’s local tourism.

“How will we jumpstart the local tourism if we are making it hard for them to reopen?” Tolentino asked stakeholders during the hearing of the Senate Committee on Local Government.

Tolentino, panel chair, last Friday held a hearing regarding preparations for the opening of the local tourism industry in areas under modified general community quarantine (MGCQ).

Local hotel establishments in the country are required to secure “accreditation” from the Department of Tourism (DOT) before reopening their respective facilities amid the new normal due to coronavirus pandemic that still affect many industries including the country’s tourism

Without that certification, hotels will not be allowed to open but Tolentino noted the limited number of DOT regional offices where they can get the accreditation from the dot regional office.

“For instance in Zamboanga City, they will have to get it in Pagadian City,” Tolentino explained.

Mr. Jose Clemente, president of Tourism Congress, supported Tolentino’s pronouncement, saying it is a valid concern of their members.

“That is something that we would have to discuss with DOT as we transition out to lower quarantine condition,” said Clemente.

“That is something that we would discuss and we’ll see how we can also utilize our tourism officers in the locality to help with this,” he added.

Tolentino called on DOT Assistant Secretary Myra Paz Abubakar to expedite the accreditation process, saying their operation heavily depend on the administrative procedure.

Paz said the DOT has been very active with the accreditation, and been doing virtual inspection of accommodations in various regions.

“So far, all the regions have really been working hard to accommodate all establishments., even the ones that we used as quarantine facilities we’ve given already provisional accreditation,” she said.

Last month, Tourism Sec. Bernadette Romulo Puyat stressed Filipinos should not expect local tourism to return to its old glory yet as the industry braces for the “new normal” guidelines in this pandemic period.

Puyat stressed that for the next few months after the lockdown, local tourism “might be limited to creating offers and promoting places only a few hours drive away from where the target consumer resides.”

The cabinet official earlier said that international travelling “is just but a dream” and “might not yet happen within the year” pending the travel restrictions of other nations.

Based on a recent study by the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) in April, around 75 million jobs will be affected “globally” by the COVID-19 pandemic—49-million jobs at risk within the Asia-Pacific Region where the Philippines is located.

Tourism proved to be a significant pillar for the country’s economic development since it has contributed to 12.7 percent of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) in 2019, based on the figures released by Puyat.

Source: Latest Politics News Today (Politics.com.ph)