As the government is slowly promoting local tourism, the Department of Tourism (DOT) and Nissan Philippines have embarked on a unique road trip geared towards promoting safe and responsible land traveling to boost domestic tourism.
Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat and Nissan Philippines President and Managing Director Atsushi Najima signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) on “Safe Trips” today, November 5 (Thursday).
“With the Safe Trips campaign, we hope to spark a renewed interest in travel by encouraging road trips, one of the oldest and truly memorable ways to see and explore the beauty of the Philippines,” said Puyat.
“As more people have started to travel locally, we look forward with great optimism that livelihoods and jobs in the tourism sector will soon return,” she added.
The MOA encourages us to go on a road trip, visit our favorite places in the country while observing health and safety protocols.
The ‘Safe Trips’ campaign aims to promote local tourism by highlighting tourist destinations that are opening up from lockdown restrictions, encourage travelers to explore tourism spots with emphasis on safety protocols and procedures for traveling, promote land travel and road trips as a way to visit domestic tourist destinations and feature DOT-accredited business.
“Depending on where you are in the Philippines, visiting many of these destinations is possible just by getting in your car and going for a drive. That being said, travelers are still encouraged to responsibly adhere to the health protocols that enabled the reopening of our tourism destinations,” said Puyat.
Tourism is one of top-income earners of the country. In 2019, local tourists logged 110 million domestic trips, which generated 3.14 trillion pesos in domestic tourism expenditure. Tourism contributed 12.7 percent to the country’s GDP; domestic tourism accounts for 10.8 percent.
