Philippine Tourism in the Pandemic: Balancing Safety and Promotion

To start with, within promoting Philippine tourism essay will be discussed the quastion whether Philippine tourism is safe or not during the pandemic. Philippines’ Department of Tourism ensured that the country is still safe to visit despite the worldwide scare of Novel Coronavirus, a virus that came from China, specifically in Wuhan. It can also be called as Wuhan Coronavirus. It is an infectious disease that can result to respiratory problem. Although this virus has gained the people’ fear for it is found to be deadly, the Department of Tourism is still sure that the country is safe to visit and to travel. In a presscon held in Makati City last January 24, 2020, DOT Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat explained that they will always prioritize the welfare of each and every tourist, and also those who are in the country’s tourism industry. She also reasoned that they will not invite travelers and allow them to come inside the country if it is not safe because it will surely destroy the image of the Philippines. As stated by Romulo-Puyat, they are very cautious and they always emphasize the safety of everyone, especially travelers. Secretary Romulo-Puyat additionally stated that the persons in charge of these are in control of the situation, and traveling to the country’s tourist destinations is safe. She also explained that Cebu and other areas are safe, and Boracay has been under containment and flights are also ceased. Recently, it is also reported that The Civil Aeronautics Board suspended flights between Wuhan and Philippines to prevent the further spreading of disease. Despite the affirmation of the Tourism Secretary, that she wanted every visitors of the country to be safe and away from any harm such as viruses and calamities, she failed to answer a raised questioned. She was asked on how the issue would affect the industry of tourism especially that China is a huge contributor to the economy of Manila, but she responded that it is still too early to answer and release statements regarding that.

The Department of Tourism, particularly Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat, stated that the despite the nCoV scare, the Philippines is still safe to visit and travelers and tourists’ welfare will always be safe because they are in control of the situation and the safety of everyone is their main priority. However, it seems that they are concluding the status of the country too early and without strong and enough evidences to support their claims. They have stated that the country is safe for tourists, but they ignored the actual truth, which reduce the reliability of their concluded “safety”. Ornedo reported that last January 23, 2020, a plane from Wuhan, the origin of 2019 Novel Coronavirus, landed in Kalibo International Airport, carrying 135 passengers, which brought worry to the Filipino people because of the possibility that the virus might spread in the country. Contributing to the fear is the truth that the Philippines is not ready and prepared to face an epidemic like nCoV. Philippines needed to send specimens that are under investigation to an Australian laboratory for confirmatory tests, which, according to Health Undersecretary Eric Domingo, takes days before the results arrive. Besides the unpreparedness of the Philippines, its bad health care system is a dangerous factor that may contribute to the danger nCoV may bring to the country. Gascon of Inquirer reported that the 2020 National Budget for health services were cut by 10 billion Pesos; a bad news now that there is an existing worldwide threat of Novel Coronavirus. Reports such as the landing of plane from Wuhan to Aklan, unpreparedness and lacking of enough facilities of the country, and also the budget cut for the country’s health services are some points to consider and examine before concluding the safety of the country as well as the welfare of the foreign visitors. Secretary Romulo-Puyat just concluded that the country is safe to visit without examining the truth encompassing the current issue. In fact, days after her statement, the Department of Health reported the first case of Novel Coronavirus inside the country. Due to this, it is doubtful whether it is truly safe to travel to the Philippines, especially during the time where she released the statement, and whether they based their affirmations on real and factual information.

To conclude tourism in the Philippines essay, consequently, presented counterclaims clearly shows that the conclusion made by Secretary Romulo-Puyat does not have strong supporting evidences and does not adequately justifies the claim she have stated. Furthermore, supporting points are based on insufficient evidences, and it seems to be that the conclusion is a statement that focuses on the state of the tourism industry. Wherefore, it is clearly found that the secretary’s affirmation is illogical and poorly reasoned for they do not examined the actual truths encompassing the present issue. Nevertheless, their steps in addressing the problem is a strong point presented by them, supporting their claims that they are doing their duty to protect the safety and welfare of everyone, particularly the travelers. However, the rest of their supporting points are weakly justified and does not strongly support their conclusion that the country is safe to travel. Thus, their released statement is therefore founded to be insufficiently, illogically, and falsely reasoned.

References

• Ornedo, J. (2020, January 23). 135 passengers land in Kalibo from Wuhan, China. Retrieved February 6, 2020, from https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/news/nation/723338/135-passengers-land-in-kalibo-from-wuhan-china/story/
• Gascon, M. (2019, September 23). Funds for health cut by P10 billion. Retrieved February 6, 2020, from https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1168031/funds-for-health-cut-by-p10-billion
• Rocamora, J. A. L. (2020, January 24). Retrieved February 6, 2020, from https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1091843?fbclid=IwAR1mK3rhTk90NOtZ1