Tourism sector asking for more flights, infra projects, eased regulations —Frasco

Tourism Secretary Christina Frasco on Friday said the tourism sector is requesting for resumption of flights, more infrastructures, and eased regulations in doing business in order to boost the country's tourism industry.

In a radio interview, Frasco said she just finished her “listening tour” to 16 DOT regional directors who informed her of issues and challenges faced by the tourism sector in their respective jurisdictions.

“Mostly, the requests have to do with economic issues. For example, there is a request for the resumption of flights that were discontinued because of the pandemic,” she said.

The Department of Tourism (DOT) is already in negotiations with airlines to boost in connection with the flights, according to Frasco.

She said there are also requests for the improvement of infrastructures in tourism destinations.

“This is also why we are doing a prioritization of projects as to how we can improve roads, bridges, access to gateways such as airports and seaports,” she said.

Frasco said there are also requests from the tourism sector to ease the current regulations on their businesses.

“For them, the government should make it easier for our tourist stakeholders to continue doing business and they would like to feel the hand of the government helping them across the board as we go through this period of recovery,” she said.

After the listening tour, Frasco said the DOT is able to adjust policies and plans to accommodate the needs and concerns of stakeholders. —KBK, GMA News