Banking on tourism as a key economic driver, the Department of Tourism (DOT) and Nissan Philippines have embarked on a 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” last 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. 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,” says Puyat.
Based on the MOA, 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 travelling, 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.
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, of which 10.8 percent is attributed to domestic tourism.