TOURISTS CAN soon easily visit Cebu’s famous Bantayan Island as its commercial airport in Santa Fe town is set to open on October 16 with Governor Gwendolyn Garcia leading the inauguration ceremony.
Garcia said she invited Department of Tourism (DOT) Regional
Director Shahlimar Hofer Tamano to grace the event - a milestone both for
Bantayan Island and the province. The governor will also meet the tourism
stakeholders in the island to prepare for the reopening of its tourism
activities.
Tamano thanked the governor for the invitation and shared the
collaboration the Capitol, DOT, and the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI)
have done in re-opening the tourism activities in Badian, Alegria, Moalboal,
and Cordova towns.
“We will be in Bantayan next week. There will be a dialogue
between the (provincial tourism) task force and our stakeholders in the three
towns (Santa Fe, Bantayan, and Madridejos),” he said.
The DOT will also carry out its “Oplan Islas,” a mobile
accreditation program partnership between the DOT 7, Philippine Coast Guard and
Maritime Industry Authority, that provides a one-stop shop for the registration
and accreditation of water tourist transport operators, boat men and dive
operators.
“Here in the region, we make sure that all tourist transports are
accredited, including kanang sa island hopping, dili ni parehas sa mass
transport ha? Para ni siya sa island hopping, these should be accredited,”
Tamano said. “We are really opening not mainly for leisure but really for
employment. Most of our stakeholders should get back their jobs slowly but
surely, so mao na atong direction.”
Garcia also praised DOT’s “Wake Up in PH” campaign video and
travel safety advisories.
The “Wake Up in the PH” videos are 16 films that highlight the
best tourism spots all over the country. This far-reaching campaign attempts to
showcase all the fun one can experience in the Philippines in all of its 16
regions.
Last September 30, the Cebu Provincial Government and Mactan Cebu
International Airport Authority signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) for the
termination of a previous agreement signed in 2018 and the new MOA paves the
way for the development of a commercial airport located in Santa Fe.
“Things are looking very, very bright for Bantayan Island,” Garcia
said during the MOA signing for the development of Bantayan Island’s community
airport into a commercial one. The airport sits on a 29-hectare government
property and can only accommodate aviation and propeller planes and chartered
flights then.
Under the new MOA, the MCIAA will continue to improve the airport
including its P94-million expansion of the runway and improvement of its
terminal. From a 900-meter runway, it is increased to 1.2 kilometers to
accommodate bigger planes.
“From a community airport, we are looking forward to growing this
into a commercial airport,” Garcia said. (Eleanor Valeros)
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