DOT RECOVERY PLAN IN REGION

BICYCLE tours, motorbiking and other outdoor activities are part of the recovery plan that the Department of Tourism (DOT) will implement to spur local tourism in the Ilocos Region.

This was bared by Tourism Secretary Berna Romulo-Puyat during her 3-day technical inspection of tourism sites in Pangasinan last week.

Puyat said the shift in local tourism preferences indicate local tourists are looking to outdoor activities like hiking and biking to be added in their leisure travel itinerary.

She said the DOT has its eyes on developing new biking and motorbiking trails in Region 1 such as the Find the One Bike Tour and Motorismo, with trails coursing through the provinces of Pangasinan, La Union, Ilocos Norte and Ilocos Sur.

“We are very excited to launch the tourism recovery plan that will introduce new and exciting activities that will provide additional opportunities for the micro, small, and medium enterprises in the region,” she said.

DOT Region 1 Director Jeff Ortega lauded Fourth District Rep. Christopher de Venecia’s Biker’s Den project in San Fabian.

“No other province has that,” he said, adding that bike enthusiasts, even from outside Pangasinan, converge there while others from Pangasinan bike to as far as La Union during weekends.

He noted that coffee shops and other restaurants and resorts surfaced in the area following the popularity of the Biker’s Den.

Meanwhile, DOT’s regional office already accredited 61 Level 1 Surf Instructors through the Academy of Surf Instructors Philippines to improve the standards of surfing lessons in the region’s popular surf spots.

Other tourism recovery initiatives of the DOT in Region 1 include the Marian Pilgrimage Tour, specialized training for Inabel textile weavers in Ilocos Sur, the Eastern, Western and Central Pangasinan Tourism Circuit, Bird Watching Tourism Circuit in Ilocos Norte and the development of eco/nature trails in La Union. (Eva Visperas)

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