DoT to launch online tourism portal

CEBU, Philippines - Realizing the power of online communication or the Internet as a powerful tool to gather public opinion specifically on certain issues and even “victories”, tourism advocate Bobby Lim Joseph will initiate the “Tourism Watch” online portal.

 Joseph said that the facility will create an online facility of tourism stakeholders as well as the general public, to inter-act tourism related discussions, or issues, in order to help the industry achieve its high level.

“We will be inviting people from media, academe, students, and other stakeholders, to be active in the online tourism watch,” he said in an interview yesterday.

Joseph who is one of the prime movers and chairman of the National Association of Independent Travel Agencies (Naitas) said that it is important for the Philippines to have a proper venue, wherein issues and even good things in tourism will be published online.

To be formally launched in January next year, Joseph will be spending at least P500 thousand to run the online portal, and will immediately invite stakeholders to contribute their views, including complaints of the current tourism industry in the Philippines.

He said there is a need for transparency in the government, especially in the tourism sector. Leadership, he said is very important, as tourism is becoming one of the vital economic drivers for the Philippines.

Aside from the online portal, Joseph will also organize another group to be called the Philippine Association of Travel Agencies and Suppliers (PATAS), in order to give a solid voice in this industry that are critical to the growth of tourism industry in the Philippines.