DoT to put up tourism rest areas, entice visitors

BAGUIO CITY -- The Tourism department plans to put up an initial 10 tourism rest areas (TRAs) in tourist destinations in the country to provide visitors with enhanced overall experience when going around the archipelago.
    Tourism Secretary Ma. Cristina Garcia Frasco said here TRAs will have a tourist information center, a pasalubong center, and more importantly, clean rest rooms.
    Frasco, who spearheaded the groundbreaking ceremony of the fourth TRA in the country along the iconic Kennon Road on Monday, said rest areas will be placed in strategic places near tourist destinations.
    The DOT began construction of TRAs in Manolo Fortich in Bukidnon, Samal Island in Davao del Norte, and Carmen in Cebu.
    The tourism chief said TRAs will also be built in Bohol, Palawan and Ilocos Norte, among others.
    "The operation and maintenance of the TRAs will be incentivized by the department where there will be parameters that will be provided for the local governments hosting the said TRAs to comply," she said.
    "Once the host local governments will be able to reach the average score of 90 percent for the prescribed parameters, the Tourism department will be providing incentives to the local government in the form of financial grant or the put up of a similar project within their respective areas of jurisdiction."
    Frasco said constructing TRAs is part of the Marcos administration's seven-point tourism agenda on improved infrastructure and gateway access beneficial to the sustained growth of the local tourism industry after having been heavily impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic.

The tourism official told stakeholders the government aggressively promote the country's tourism locally and overseas.

Frasco said the country exceeded its tourism target for the year as tourism receipts had reached more than P130 billion and "we still have a few weeks left before the year ends."