SAN JUAN, Abra – The Turismo Isulong Mo Party-list group disclosed that the significant increase in foreign travelers arriving in the country will definitely catalyze the gradual and safe revival of the heavily impacted economy primarily caused by the prevalence of the dreaded Coronavirus Disease (COVID) 2019 pandemic over the past two years.
Turismo Isulong Mo Party-list second nominee and former Mayor Marco Bautista claimed that the over 200,000 foreign tourist arrivals in the country since the inter-agency task force for the management of emerging infectious diseases eased up the restrictions for foreigners already contributed in helping revive the economic activities in the areas where the foreigners actually spent their travel.
However, he pointed out that with the emergence of another variant of the deadly virus, the gains of the tourism industry might again be unnecessarily derailed once such variants will be enter the country that might cause another surge in cases in the next two months, although tourism industry stakeholders are keeping their fingers crossed on the matter.
Bautista claimed that foreign travelers are good spenders and this will surely benefit the economic activities in the tourist spots they visit in the country and help in the economic recovery of the communities.
According to him, while tourism and other tourism-related establishments were the last to open after the series of lockdowns over the past two years, it is now the one that is easily gaining its pre-pandemic vibrance which is a good sign for the displaced tourism industry workers because they will be able to get back their jobs the soonest once the situation gets better.
Earlier, the Turismo Isulong Mo Party-list second nominee predicted that it will be tourism that will have the greatest chance of immediately recovering from the pandemic because of the desire of people to travel to their favorite tourist destinations to be able to take a break from the over two years of being confined in their homes.
He underscored the party-list group will advance the interest of the tourism sector in Congress through legislations and substantial funding to be provided for the overall development of potential tourist destinations in the different parts of the country to entice foreign and domestic tourists to move around and spend as part of the gradual efforts to revive the heavily impacted local economies.
Bautista served as a three-term municipal chief executive who lifted the previously sleepy town to one of the most developed municipalities in the province that paved the way for him to garner a number of prestigious awards during his term.
The Turismo Isulong Mo Party-list group is listed as No. 156 in the order of party-list organizations that had been allowed by the Commission on Election (Comelec) to aspire for the available seats in the House of Representatives for the upcoming May 9, synchronized national and local elections.