SAGADA, Mountain Province– The municipal government is closely working with local tourism industry stakeholders for the formulation of the stringent guidelines governing the gradual, safe and cautious opening of the tourism industry as part of the overall efforts to allow the revival of the local economy.
Mayor James Pooten said that concerned municipal officials are constantly consulting with inn keepers, hotel owners, tourist guides, transport operators and drivers, among others, to craft the appropriate guidelines the municipal government will enforce once the local tourism industry will be opened first for residents and travelers from the different parts of the province, to be followed by tourists from outside the province.
However, he said there is no definite period when the town’s tourism industry will be opened because there are numerous matters that have to be first ironed out within their level before allowing the entry of visitors from other places.
Pooten explained that after the draft guidelines have been finalized by these stakeholders, the same will be subjected to a dry run before being subjected to the appropriate adjustments for submission to the municipal council for the approval of the rules that will be implemented in the municipality.
He admitted that he participated in the virtual meeting between Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo Puyat and some local chief executives in Benguet and Ifugao where he informed the group that Sagada’s tourism will remain closed until further announcement when all the rules shall have been put in place.
According to him, the municipal government and concerned tourism industry stakeholders want to make sure that there will be no untoward incidents that will transpire when local tourism will be opened that will cause the spread of the virus in the municipality and compromise the health and safety of the residents.
Mayor Pooten claimed that the municipal government and the tourism industry stakeholders will closely watch the developments in the gradual opening of the Baguio-Ilocos Region travel corridor to learn from their experience as an input into their own guidelines.
Sagada is one of the favorite tourist destinations of foreign and domestic visitors because of its sceneries, aside from the famous caves that allowed the municipality to land in the global tourism map over the past several decades.
The mayor stated it was agreed by municipal officials and different sectors that there is no need to rush the proposed opening of the local tourism industry because what is important is that the health and safety of the residents and the visitors will be protected from the possible spread of the deadly virus that had heavily battered the global economy.
He agreed to the contention of government officials that there is a need to strike a balance between the health of the people and the local economy and that the same should be done carefully and responsibly. By HENT