The Department of Tourism (DOT) and Nissan Philippines are embarking on a road trip towards promoting safe and responsible land traveling as the country gears up for a rebound of domestic tourism.
DOT Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat and Nissan Philippines President and Managing Director Atsushi Najima officially signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) for the Safe Trips campaign on November 5, 2020. The campaign is aimed at promoting local tourism by highlighting local tourist destinations that have started reopening following lockdown restrictions.
Safe Trips also aims to encourage travelers to explore tourism spots with an emphasis on safety protocols and procedures for traveling. It will even promote land travel and road trips as a way to visit domestic tourist destinations and feature DOT-accredited businesses.
Nissan Philippines President and Managing Director Atsushi Najima (top left) and DOT Sec. Berna Romulo-Puyat (top right) with other representatives from Nissan and DOT during the virtual MOA signing
“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,” said Sec. Romulo-Puyat. “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.”
The tourism secretary also emphasized the convenience of visiting many tourism destinations, which can be accessed through road trips—getting into your car and going for a relaxing drive. “That being said, travelers are still encouraged to responsibly adhere to the health protocols that enabled the reopening of our tourism destinations,” Romulo-Puyat said.
In 2019, local tourists had 100 million domestic trips, which translated to about P3.14 trillion in domestic tourism expenditure. Tourism contributed 12.7% to the country’s gross domestic product, of which 10.8% is attributed to domestic tourism.