Businessmen came together to offer 4,000 jobs to those who will be displaced by the closure of Boracay and ensure that the environmental problem in the resort island would not be repeated in other tourism destinations.
The job openings for displaced Boracay workers would be spread in key cities across the country including Metro Manila, Bohol and Palawan, according to Philippine Travel Agencies Association president Marlene Dado Jante.
Jante said PTAA would also ask more than 600 members nationwide to open at least two temporary jobs each to those who would become unemployed because of Boracay’s closure.
“This will be on top, of what we, as One Boracay is offering. We want those workers to remain gainfully employed and capable of providing for their families until Boracay reopens,” Jante said.
One Boracay, a newly-formed group supported by PTAA, Tourism Congress of the Philippines, the Hotel Sales and Marketing Association and tourism stakeholders in Boracay, said it would also collaborate with partners in other prime tourism destinations to avoid a repeat of the Boracay mess.
“There will be groups like the one we have for Boracay in other destinations that are under intense scrutiny or those that are being threatened to be closed by the government. We have One Boracay now. There will be One Bohol, One Puerto Galera and One Palawan very soon,” said Tourism Congress president Jose Clemente III.
PTAA president Marlene Dado Jante said her group would exert extra effort so that other destinations would not end up as another Boracay.
“We want the government, in the future, to first consult with all stakeholders and incorporate our ideas before executing any actions that will affect tourism destinations and the industry itself on multiple levels. The government should understand that we are the ones on the ground and that we have a clear understanding on how the industry works,” she said.
Both groups claimed that if the government had given Boracay stakeholders more time to get their acts together before the shutdown, they would have been better prepared during the six-month closure.
Tourism Congress, created under Republic Act 9593 or more commonly known as the Tourism Act of 2009, acts as the private sector consultative body that assists the government in the development, implementation and coordination of Philippine tourism policy.
One Boracay would meet in May to map out a marketing plan for the reopening of Boracay in November.