Early last week, my group of Board Members of Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) visited Mark T. Lapid, Chief Operating Officer (COO) of Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority (TIEZA) for us to be updated on the agency’s new projects, now that our industry is getting back on its feet once again.
It was such a pleasant tete-a-tete with the amiable TIEZA COO as he regaled us with the very interesting and exciting projects the agency has embarked on.
Working together with the Department of Tourism (DOT), and in line with President BBM’s directive to improve the tourists’ overall experience in our country, TIEZA is setting up Tourist Rest Areas, with design elements bannering Filipino culture and artistry, where visitors can take a break from their tour itinerary and be able to use clean restrooms. These areas will also have an Information Desk, manned by a competent DOT-trained individual, and a Pasalubong Center which will make available our local and indigenous products.
With the support of the local government units, TIEZA is initially setting up these new Rest Areas in ten popular tourist destinations all over the country. This will just be the start, as the agency will be building more of these in many other locations, towards ensuring tourists’ comfort, while they enjoy what our country has to offer.
But what is getting everybody at TIEZA and the rest of us in the Industry very excited is the aesthetic lighting of the 2.16-kilometer San Juanico Bridge, that iconic landmark of Eastern Visayas, once considered the longest bridge in the Philippines (the recognition now belongs to the Cebu-Cordova Link Expressway which is 8.9 kilometers long). The San Juanico Bridge will soon illuminate the evening sky with colorful lighting equipment such as strobe lights, linear lights, wall washer lights, point lights and laser beams.
At a cost of P80 million, the lighting of San Juanico Bridge, with its arch-shaped truss design, and responsible for the economic trade and commerce between Samar and Leyte, will certainly boost tourism to these two provinces and put the bridge on the same level as the other iconic landmarks in the world.
Static and dynamic lights will showcase the beauty of this architectural wonder. Static lights will be used for an average of ten to twelve hours per day, while the dynamic lights will be used only during the light show, for up to a maximum of one hour per day.
Slated to be launched before the year ends, test runs are now being conducted every night. This commendable project will also improve the safety and security of nighttime travelers along the bridge and will further ensure tourism sustainability in the area, whereas before, San Juanico bridge was a necessary structure to get to tourist destinations, now it will be a tourist destination in itself!
TIEZA certainly deserves a pat on the back for coming up with these two landmark projects. And I hasten to add that I am still in awe at what it has done to the Intramuros Golf Course, offering the only Night Golf in the Philippines. A favorite of our Japanese and South Korean visitors, Night Golf doubles up the earnings of the golf course and, at the same time, banners the beauty of the age-old historical structures of Intramuros as the perfect background for an enjoyable sports activity.
With the affable TIEZA COO Mark T. Lapid at the helm, those of us in the tourism industry are eagerly awaiting more exciting projects that will further provide us the opportunity to make up for what we lost during the two-year breather that the pandemic forced us to take.
YOUR MONDAY CHUCKLE
ANDY ROONEY: The idea of living a long life appeals to everyone, but the idea of getting old doesn’t appeal to anyone!
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