It’s more fun in Puerto Galera

Despite the rains interrupting the summer heat, the Department of Tourism (DOT) Secretary Christina Garcia Frasco joined divers in Puerto Galera town in Oriental Mindoro, in a scuba diving activity on Wednesday, April 12th, in a show of support for the tropical paradise which remains one hundred percent open for tourism.

The tourism secretary, who also sits as the chairman of the Philippine Commission on Sports Scuba Diving (PCSSD), was joined by Puerto Galera Mayor Rocky Ilagan, Undersecretary for Tourism Regulation, Coordination and Resource Generation (TRCRG) Shahlimar Hofer Tamano and Region 4B Director Zeny Pallugna at the La Laguna Point, a popular dive spot in the local travel destination. Puerto Galera, known for its dive sites and beaches, continues to be unaffected by the oil spill and the DOT’s presence in the area shows the commitment of the current administration to help the industry recover, not only in the hour of crisis but also during difficult situations.

In recent times, Puerto Galera Mayor Rocky Ilagan had been encouraging tourists to come to their town and reprimanded those who were posting false information on social media that the oil spill caused by the sunken tanker MT Princess Empress off the coast of Oriental Mindoro last Feb. 28 had reached their beaches. To date, Puerto Galera continues to be open to tourism worldwide. Local tourism data showed that from April 3 to 10, 2023, a total of 18,757 tourists visited the tropical paradise, of which the top source of foreign markets are China, South Korea, the United States of America (USA), Japan and Germany.

Mayor Ilagan, who also joined the DOT secretary and other officials in the diving activity, expressed gratitude to the department for paying a special visit to the town while recognizing that Secretary Frasco was the first tourism chief to set foot in Puerto Galera since 2003.

While the town is still oil slick-free, there are at least 66 tourist attractions that have been affected by the oil spill from the sunken tanker, and over 1,400 tourism workers were affected, thus prompting the visit by the department chief. In addition, the secretary also led the distribution of Certificate of Tourism Grants to leaders of Community-based Sustainable Tourism Organizations (CBSTO) from the various local government units of Oriental Mindoro. The certificate entitles the organization to tourism training interventions, with starter kits for alternative livelihoods while being unable to engage in their present occupation due to the oil spill.

According to Frasco, the DOT will provide training programs to the affected tourism workers in the municipalities of Gloria, Pinamalayan, Naujan, San Teodoro, Pola, Bulalacao, Mansalay and Calapan City. Topics to be tackled in the program range from Farm tourism: Urban Farming; Tourism Micro Retail: Beadwork and Lei making; Food Tourism: Kulinarya Training; Health and Wellness Tourism: Hilot Training and Basic Haircutting Training.

As it has been said, for every crisis comes opportunity and the tourism chief is determined to balance the need to manage a crisis while ensuring livelihood by supporting our local government units through unwavering national government efforts geared towards the industry.

Despite the oil spill threat, an influx of tourists continues and if it is one thing we are learning, false news can affect the lives of those who depend heavily upon tourism. We are also learning that when both national and local governments join forces, a wave of opportunities come along to create the best possible solutions to the problems that have arisen, especially over the last few weeks.

Tourism brings the world closer and helps people of diverse cultures better understand each other. The benefits of such is not just to the tourist, but to the residents who often can earn a living from tourism. It really is more fun in the Philippines, where being a guest becomes an experience because they believe that a place is beautiful, different, historic or, simply put, a home away from home.

Congratulations to the Department of Tourism and to the local government of Puerto Galera for showing how both roots and defense tourism are key to sustaining our communities.