Bohol Tourism Office (BTO) chief Josephine Cabarrus expressed optimism that influx of tourist would restart during the summer, Bohol’s peak tourism season prior to the pandemic.
Cabarrus acknowledged that many establishments continued to reel from the effects of Typhoon “Odette” but noted the need for resorts and other tourism-related business to start preparing for tourist arrivals.
“Mo daghan na ni with Holy Week coming in, and the summer. So we will need to be ready,” said Cabarrus.
Cabarrus said that tourism arrivals would be bolstered if Bohol’s alert level will be downgraded from Alert Level 3 after February 15.
“Hopefully after the 15th ma-lower na pud ta, kanang mga level mao man gud pud nay maka-discourage sa atong mga visitors, unta after the 15th level 2 na,” she said.
She added that after almost two years of restricted movement, people already want to travel and it would be easier for them to do so as the number of new COVID-19 cases continues its downtrend.
“Makaingon gyud ta na people really want to go out of their homes. How long has it been na cooped sa ilang mga bay for so long. Karon, og ma luag-luag na, they will travel,” she added.
Based on data from the Bohol Inter-Agency Task Force, the number of active COVID-19 cases has dropped to 573 as of Thursday morning from over a thousand last month.
Meanwhile, the Provincial Tourism Council (PTC) in coordination with various government agencies including the BTO and private organizations launched a new marketing initiative to promote new tourist destinations.
The PTC chose to highlight the lesser known areas to show that Bohol has more to offer besides the renowned Chocolate Hills and white-sand beaches of Pangloa.
Mag feature ta sa mga wala pa ma part kaayo sa circuit, aron mapakita pud nato sa uban na ‘naa pa diay uban na wa makit-i sa Bohol’,” she said.
Cabarrus added they have started production of a video ad which will feature these sites and will be promoted through various platforms including social media.
“For marketing purposes and because we know that a large part of our market is the domestic market, we are coming up with a video. We have started shooting and the production, we started planning this in January pa,” she said. (ad)