CEBU CITY - Tourism stakeholders and tour operators in Cebu have expressed worries about the expected negative effects of last Monday's hostage drama on the Philippine tourism industry.
Jenny Franco, chairman of the National Association of Independent Travel Agencies (NAITAs) in Cebu, said the industry will surely be pummeled following the hostage crisis that involved Hong Kong tourists.
''We got back our tourists after exerting so much efforts following the Abu Sayaff crisis in Mindanao and now we will definitely go back to scratch with the hostage incident in Manila,'' Franco said during the weekly 888 News Forum at the Marco Polo Plaza Hotel.
Adding to the worries of the tourism players here was Hong Kong's issuance of the adverse Black Outbound Travel Alert for the Philippines. Such ''black alert'' is the highest level amongst Hong Kong's Outbound Travel Alert system. It indicates that a ''severe threat'' exists and all travel to a black alert-issued destination should be avoided.
appealed to Tourism Secretary Alberto Lim to immediately issue a statement contradicting the advisory and assure tourists that it is still very safe to travel to the Philippines and that the hostage drama was an isolated case.
