EDITORIAL - Opportunity in crisis

The travel and tourism industry has been battered by the 2019 coronavirus disease contagion. Smaller businesses are shutting down and workers are losing their jobs, with the trend expected to continue in the coming weeks as the country joins the rest of the planet in efforts to contain the COVID-19 pandemic.

Across the country, several top tourist destinations are shutting out visitors, especially from Metro Manila, now the epicenter of the contagion in the country. Sagada and other destinations in the Cordilleras can take advantage of the shutdown to rehabilitate heavily visited sites.

Amid all the woes, people can make the best of a crisis situation by seeing it as an opportunity to clean up travel destinations, and if resources permit, to upgrade facilities and services. Boracay has shown the way in cleaning up and controlling the number of visitors.

Before the novel coronavirus reached the Philippines, there were already ongoing cleanups and rehabilitation of travel destinations, among them El Nido in Palawan. The Baguio City government together with the Department of Tourism had unveiled a plan to revive popular spots such as Burnham Park and restore the pine forests of the country’s summer capital. With fewer visitors, the task should be easier.

In Metro Manila, the ongoing cleanup of Manila Bay, Pasig River and its tributaries is also meant to boost tourism apart from improving the environment. With the National Capital Region under community quarantine for a month, the cleanup should be easier and must be ramped up.

Even Catholic churches, where attendance has fallen because of the virus scare, can use the break for restoration work – although they might need contributions from devotees because the COVID contagion has also meant a plunge in church collections during masses.

Churches are among the top tourist draws in the country, so restoration projects should be part of overall efforts to revive the travel industry once the COVID-19 pandemic is contained.

This contagion isn’t going to last forever. When the crisis is over, everyone should be ready for the revival of business – and stiff competition.