The Ilocos Norte delegation will head to Baguio City on Sept. 22 for the launching of the “Ridge and Reef Travel Corridor.”
Ridge and Reef Travel Corridor is an initiative of the Department of Tourism, the four provinces of Region 1, and Baguio City to jumpstart recovery across tourism industries.
Gov. Matthew Marcos Manotoc will head the team. Members of the Ilocos Norte Travel Agencies Association will also attend the launching.
They will present tour programs and bookable tour itineraries, as well as local products through the BuyIn Project.
The province is famous for its white sand beaches, rock and coral formations, mountain ranges, sand dunes, and rich biodiversity.
It also has a legacy of monuments and remarkable Philippine Hispanic era infrastructure –
Unesco World Heritage Paoay Church, Pagudpud viaduct, and the more than 200 windmills dotting its coast.
“We (Ilocos Norte residents) can start planning our visit to Baguio City starting Sept. 22 but we are also preparing to welcome our Baguio residents on the first week of October. It starts from there and it will be a learning process on how best we can open up to tourists safely,” Manotoc said.
In a meeting held in Ilocos Norte, the Baguio-La Union-Pangasinan-Ilocos Sur-Ilocos Norte Technical Working Group unified tourism reopening guidelines through consultations and site inspections.
Tourists will be required to register using a prescribed online platform. They are required to secure a travel authority, medical certificate, accomplish a health declaration form not earlier than 48 hours before departure for Ilocos Norte, and show a negative Covid-19 test. Tourists may stay for up to 30 days or even longer.
Aside from leisure, the Ilocos Norte Tourism Office is also preparing guidelines and packages for productivity tour programs.
“We would like to provide a rejuvenating and safe environment for those who are working and studying from home. We are also pursuing media and film projects who want to locate in Ilocos Norte. We are known to be an ideal place to work, study, and create even in these times,” said Tourism Head Aian Raquel.
On Sept. 2, Tourism Sec. Bernadette Romulo-Puyat, Manotoc, Baguio Mayor Benjamin Magalong, Ilocos Sur Gov. Ryan Luis Singson, Pangasinan Gov. Amado I. Espino III, and La Union Gov. Francisco Emmanuel Ortega, who was represented by Department of Tourism-Region I Director Joseph Francisco Ortega, signed a memorandum of understanding at the Baguio Country Club, for the “Ridge and Reef” cooperation. – Press release
April 19, 2024
