TUBLAY, Benguet– Tourist spots that had been allowed to operate during the modified general community quarantine (MGCQ) will accommodate individuals coming from the different parts of Benguet to help in the gradual and safe revival of the industry and the town’s overall economy.
Mayor Armando Lauro reported that the latest tourist spot that recently opened was the Asin hot springs.
Earlier, the municipal government allowed the operation of the Ahonda rock formation, Balite Tree in Tuel, the Polig Berry Farm and The Ridge Café in Barangay Ambassador after the said tourist destinations complied with the prescribed stringent health and safety protocols against COVID-19.
He said that aside from agriculture, tourism is one of the major economic drivers of the municipality thus efforts are being done by concerned government agencies, the municipal government and the tourism industry stakeholders, to allow the gradual and safe opening of the local tourism industry for the benefit of the visitors and residents alike.
According to him, the municipal economy has been heavily impacted by the nearly one year of being under various levels of community quarantine and the municipal government cannot afford to continue enforcing stringent regulations, thus, the need to be considerate on the plight of the people for them to slowly recover from their being displaced from their work, economic activities and sources of livelihood as recovery efforts must start somewhere.
Further, Mayor Lauro asserted it is also important for concerned government agencies and the municipal government to allow the regulated movement of people, instead of continuously restricting them, for them to relax and energize themselves to be productive once they are able to go back to work and regain their economic activities but with strict adherence to the prescribed health and safety protocols being implemented to contain the spread of the virus in the locality.
Tublay is one of the towns that hosts various ecotourist destinations being frequented by foreign and domestic tourists when the situation in the country was not yet under various levels of community quarantine.
The mayor urged residents of the province to start slowly moving round and visit their desired destinations where it is allowed to see for themselves improvements done in these various tourist spots around the province.
Lauro expressed his gratitude to the owners of the private tourist destinations for introducing the needed improvements in their sites to entice tourists to visit them. By HENT