Image credits: Aldar Darmaev | Dreamstime.com
THE municipality of Puerto Galera is looking forward to the completion by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) of an environmental study that will determine the popular tourism destination’s carrying capacity.
Puerto Galera Mayor Rocky D. Ilagan told the BusinessMirror that prior to the pandemic, tourist arrivals in the municipality were “about 4,000 to 5,000 [tourists] per day,” adding that the DENR will finish its study by September.
Separately, in a news conference on Tuesday announcing the formal launch of “Amazing Puerto Galera,” Ilagan said the DENR study will complement the municipality’s strict entry protocols. Tourists, he said, will have to pass QR scanning “so we will know exactly how many tourists come in. The DENR financed a carrying capacity [study] of Puerto Galera, the beaches, and the resorts … eventually we will have a clear understanding how many tourists can be accommodated by Puerto Galera.”
He added, “With the QR coding we will see how many tourists are in those particular areas. So if we reach 50 percent of capacity, we will stop the tourists from going to those tourism destinations. We can inform them via text not to proceed.”
Starting March 10, tourists will be allowed to enter Puerto Galera even without RT-PCR or antigen tests. Mindoro Oriental has opened its borders, and thus will now be fully accessible by regular ferry service from Batangas. When Puerto Galera slightly reopened to tourism in August, Ilagan said tourists were able to visit the municipality via special shuttle from Manila to Batangas, and then fetched by boat from Batangas arranged by the resorts. (See, “No more Covid tests for visitors at Puerto Galera,” in the BusinessMirror, March 9, 2021.)
Sustainable tourism in Palawan
Meanwhile, Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo Puyat said DOT will launch by the third quarter this year the Sustainable Tourism Development Project (STDP), which will run until 2026, aimed at hastening the tourism recovery of El Nido and Coron, in Palawan.
The STDP is an initiative under DOT’s Transforming Communities Towards Resilient, Inclusive, and Sustainable Tourism (TouRIST) program. It is a collaboration with the provincial government of Palawan, the municipalities of Coron and El Nido and the Asian Development Bank.
For El Nido, STDP projects will focus on improving the town’s drainage; managing solid waste by developing a landfill; managing tourism sites based on ecosystems; and developing enterprises and skills.
For Coron, projects include the development of a clean and dependable water supply, construction of a sewerage system, drainage improvement, and urban beautification.
“The STDP will help build the capacity of local stakeholders to protect and conserve [El Nido and] Coron’s natural beauty and biodiversity and ensure that tourism benefits the local communities,” said Puyat in a news statement.
As of February 15, 2021, a total of 20 accommodation establishments in Coron have been accredited by the DOT.
Oriental Mindoro and Palawan are under the Mimaropa (formerly Southwestern Tagalog) region. Other provinces include Mindoro Occidental, Marinduque, and Romblon.
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