About 100 tourism stakeholders in Negros Oriental recently gathered for a forum on Crisis Management initiated by the Department of Tourism-7 to prepare and anticipate on how to deal with the threat of terrorism in Central Visayas.
OIC Regional Director Judy Gabato of DOT7 said the tourism industry in the region is susceptible to such negative occurrence amid the ongoing conflict in Marawi City and the military clashes with the Abu Sayyaf bandits in Bohol last April putting the sector under threat of a crisis.
Safety and security is the new order of tourism destinations as Gabato said “this is the way to assist tourism businesses in dealing with crisis by reducing the vulnerability and it is an important challenge that tourism industry is facing.”
Presidential Assistant for the Visayas Michael Lloyd Dino, represented by communications officer John Ray Saavedra, cited two advocacy initiatives in the proposed creation of the Visayan Sea Inter-Agency Task Force and the One Visayas Corridor of Development of Change (One VisDaC).
Dino expressed to institutionalize the inter-agency task force that intends to safeguard the seas and coastlines in the Visayas against immersion of terrorists and lawless elements.
In his statement, a memo of understanding would be signed for the stakeholders or law enforcement agencies which serve as a framework that will prevent terrorists and other illegal activities from navigating the region’s seas and coastal areas.
“It will be a strict implementation of the maritime safety laws, rules and regulations. Policy needs to implement the registration of sea vessels below three gross tonnage or utilize for fishing in the municipal office or the city hall to prevent smaller sea crafts being utilize by terrorists,” sais Dino.
The purok system will be activated or ‘neighborhood watch’ for barangay residents to be vigilant and report to the authorities on any suspicious looking people new to their neighborhood, Dino said.
Dino also pointed out the ‘One VisDaC’ which seeks to harmonize Visayas-wide development prospective, coordinates and integrates Visayas agenda, initiative programs, projects and activities.
Dino illustrated the need to bond together as ‘Visayas’ to have a common voice when it comes to budget, infrastructure projects, peace and order programs, agriculture, socio-economic and investment plans and tourism industry.
“Let me take tourism as one component of this corridor of development as we start the campaign Visayans Visit the Visayas that we Visayans should patronize our own tourist destinations first before other places, to boost the tourism industry in the Visayas and foster unity among us; and use the social media in promoting our own tourist destinations here,” Dino urged.
The Tourism Stakeholders Forum on Crisis Managemtent was designed by DOT in cooperation with the provincial government of Negros Oriental to provide guidelines and accurate process to all private stakeholders and local government units in dealing with crisis situations which may threaten tourists and interfere with the tourism growth in the Province. (fcr/jct/PIA7-NegOr)
