By JIGGER J. JERUSALEM
Correspondent
THE 2019 novel coronavirus acute respiratory disease has had no effect so far on the tourism industry in some parts of the region as health authorities are preparing personnel and facilities in case it reaches Northern Mindanao.
In Misamis Oriental, there is no report yet of individuals having novel coronavirus symptoms either from local residents or foreigners who are visiting the province, Jeffrey Saclot, provincial tourism officer, said yesterday.
The novel coronavirus originated in Wuhan, a city in Hubei province, China, and was first detected in December.
The coronavirus has since spread to other countries, including the Philippines where the Department of Health was able to confirm that a Chinese national died from the disease, the first fatality outside of China.
Saclot said that since foreigners are only a fraction of the tourist arrivals, the travel ban, especially on China, has no impact on the local tourism.
Add to this is the fact that the Laguindingan Airport in Laguindingan, Misamis Oriental, has no international flights yet, he said.
He said foreign tourists constitute only five percent of the total number of arrivals in the province.
“Most of our tourists are locals. That’s why our tourism industry has not been affected by the travel ban due to the novel coronavirus,” Saclot said.
But he added that once the Laguindingan Airport caters to international flights, then they expect more foreigners to visit Misamis Oriental.
The province boasts of some of the most-visited tourism sites in the region, among them the Divine Mercy Shrine in El Salvador City, the Flight 387 memorial park in Gingoog City, and the healing pool in Binuangan town.
