At least 20 domestic tour operators who are active members of the Philippine Tourism Operators Inc. (PHILTOA) are set to visit Ilocos Norte on February 1-3, 2021 to familiarize themselves with the new normal tourism products the province is offering.

“The three-day familiarization tour aims to let our visitors experience our new tourism products and make our tourism guidelines known not only for tourists but also to our partner tour operators who are expected to facilitate the visit of our tourists,” said Xavier Ruiz, senior tourism operations officer of Ilocos Norte Tourism Office (INTO), in a press conference held at the Capitol Bonsai Garden on Wednesday.

The visit coincides with the 203rd founding anniversary of Ilocos Norte which used to be a crowd-drawing event during pre-Covid times.

According to Ruiz, part of the itinerary includes a visit to the province’s new normal attractions such as experiencing free diving and snorkeling at the Badoc Island, a visit at the newly-established Filipino-Chinese Friendship Garden located near the Malacanang of the North Complex, a taste of drive-in cinema featuring Ilocos Norte’ scenic landscape at the sprawling sand dunes of Paoay and an eco-tour at the Pagudpud wind farm in Barangay Caparispisan.

Ruiz said they are pushing for these new normal attractions for visitors of Ilocos Norte to experience something new about the province this year.

“When you think of Ilocos Norte from years back, we always think of beaches, waterfalls, museums and churches but it is not known to many that Ilocos Norte has also under the sea attractions which we, locals enjoy during the pandemic,” he said.

In the next few weeks, the INTO announced there will be some changes in the tourism guidelines which are expected to ease visitor’s compliance to various documents being required at the border.

Since the reopening of tourism in October last year, Ilocos Norte tourist arrivals including expats working in Luzon have plunged from a million to merely 600 visitors to date.

To increase visitors’ confidence, Provincial Tourism Officer Aianree Raquel reported tourism stakeholders here continue to re-strategize to increase the number of tourist arrivals particularly on domestic tourism.

With a grant of almost PHP9 million from the Tourism Promotions Board of the Philippines, Raquel said the amount will be utilized to further promote Ilocos Norte’s new tourism packages and ensure that tourists are safe when visiting these sites.

“Our goal this year is to improve the numbers and improve our services with focus on our safety,” he said citing at least 2,000 tourism workers will also be undergoing free (Reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction) RT-PCR testing for the safety of tourists who visit Ilocos Norte.

The INTO underscored the spike of coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) cases in the province recently was not in any way tourism-related. (PNA)