The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) assisted the tourism sector in Puerto Princesa City and Palawan to help them recover from the impact of coronavirus disease COVID-19.
The USAID through Strenghtening Urban Resilience for Growth with Equity (SURGE) organized recently a virtual Business Continuity and Recovery and Learning Session participated by 127 tourism stakeholders from Puerto Princesa, El Nido, San Vicente and Roxas.
City Mayor Lucilo R. Bayron, also the chairman of the City Tourism Council participated the session.
Department of Tourism (DOT) Assistant Secretary Roberto Alabado III presented the DOT’s immediate plans to implement special protection measures for affected tourism stakeholders. Mr. Enrique Victor Pamplona, Risk Advisory Leader of Deliotte Philippines told tourism stakeholders to introduce innovations which is key in business continuity. On the other hand, Mr. Javier Hernandez, President of Ten Knots Development Corporation and Vice President of Ayala Land shared their company’s continuity and risk management practices. Ten Knots Development Corporation and Ayala Land operated tourism-related businesses in Palawan, specificallly in El Nido town.
The USAID SURGE said that the coronavirus disease COVID-19 has significantly slowed down tourism in the local and global scale.
“In Puerto Princesa City, tourism has been hit the hardest with almost 90 percent of primary and secondary tourism establishments forced to stop operations,” USAID SURGE further said.
The tourism sector is encouraged to adapt to the new normal scenario in close coordination with its stakeholders and markets, maximize foresight planning through data and analytics, strenghten value chain, repurpose unutilized assets, and improve social media presence.
Through the guidance of the City Tourism Office and the City Tourism Council, the Association of Accredited Tourist Accommodations of Puerto Princesa submitted to Mayor Bayron and DOT their proposal of key recovery actions.
“With a business continuity and recovery plan, stakeholders will be able to come up with a strategy or program that will address the concerns of the tourism industry and help tourism workers navigate through a post-lockdown business landscape,” USAID SURGE said.