The Department of Tourism (DOT) lauded the tourism stakeholders of Davao for spearheading an “innovative” vaccination program for travel and hospitality employees, including A4 Priority Group members.
Dubbed as “Bakuna by the Sea,” the vaccination program was held at the seaside tropical garden of the Waterfront Insular Hotel Pavilion from June 30 to July 2, 2021.
Tourism Secretary Berna Romulo-Puyat thanked Mayor Sara Duterte for including tourism industry workers on the city’s vaccination priority list.
Romulo-Puyat likewise thanked the private sector for their contribution in organizing the unique vaccination program, saying it would further spur the recovery of tourism in Davao—an industry that bore the brunt of the pandemic.
“The designation of the NCR Plus area as a low-risk area is a welcome sign that the national vaccination program is working.”
“I would like to congratulate the DATA for working with the City government of Davao to start inoculating our tourism workers. The recent designation of the NCR Plus area as a low-risk area is a welcome sign that the national vaccination program is working, and we hope to see this replicated in Davao as soon as possible,” the tourism chief said in her video message, thanking the hotel management for also lending a hand for the program.
The program allocated 14,000 doses of Sinovac vaccines for the initial 7,000 tourism workers, including those in the A4 Priority Group.
According to the Davao LGU, around 6,000 tourism workers in the city pre-registered for the event.
“This special vaccination program for tourism workers should be replicated across the country.”
“This special vaccination program for tourism workers should be replicated across the country. I hope that other local government units in the country will follow suit so we can bring back the thousands of tourism jobs that were lost amid the pandemic,” the tourism head added.
“Let us remember that we are a community, and we are not just protecting ourselves but the people around us. As tourism workers who have to interact with so many different people face to face, your health and safety are important. This is a pivotal step in the road to recovery as we need to do it together,” she stressed.
The Bohol local government recently began inoculating their tourism workers after the arrival of 10,000 doses of Russian COVID-19 brand Gamaleya Sputnik V vaccines in the province.
Initiated by the National Task Force (NTF) against COVID-19 through the DOT, the program seeks to vaccinate 5,000 tourism workers on the island.
