Among the reasons, she said, is that travelers, particularly domestic ones, do not comply with any requirements.
Tecson said her office recorded 127,300 arrivals during the first quarter of the year from just 25,266 during the same period last year based on reports on tourist arrivals from hotels and other occupancy establishments.
“We are already very very happy about (the increase in tourist arrivals),” she said, adding that both the city government and the private sector have come up with guidelines on accepting tourist arrivals.
This developed as the city government is preparing for the holding of the Kadayawan sa Dabaw in an in-person setting.
“We are just waiting for the executive order (on Kadayawan) to come out,” she said in reference to the composition of the executive order that will supervise the holding of the event which usually takes place in August.
Although the event was usually held for a duration of a month before the pandemic, Tecson said the initial plan is to hold it for a week, particularly the major activities.
She added that some airlines have slowly resumed their flights using the international airport of the city.
Tecson said that there are about 10,000 hotel rooms that have resumed operations and that the city government needs more hotel rooms to accommodate more tourists.
She added that the city government has not change any protocols on meeting, incentives, conventions and exhibitions (MICE), a segment of the tourism industry which is among the biggest contributors to the city’s sector revenues, but “we have reimplemented our pre-COVID-19 guidelines.”
Under these guidelines, for organizers of events with 100 or more participants, they need to present their security plans before the Public Safety and Security Command 15 days before their event.
Tecson said organizers need only to inform her office so it can help present the security plan to the PSSC. “As you very well know, we are also very security conscious,” she said.
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