SAN FERNANDO CITY, La Union – The Department of Tourism Ilocos regional office (DOT-1) has started an online class for some 500 tourism workers amid the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic.
In a phone interview Thursday, DOT-1 regional director Joseph Francisco Ortega said the online class is one of the measures they have taken to help workers who have temporarily lost their jobs due to the crisis brought by the pandemic.
He said the online class tackles lessons such as starting or adapting to the new normal, how to create alternative work during the pandemic, and mental health issues.
“DOT-1 uses the online platform zoom for this program, while the lecturers are accredited speakers. It was started this week,” he said.
The tourism industry is one of the most affected during this crisis and while the DOT central office readies the Tourism Response and Recovery Program, the regional office also prepares the mind-set of the tourism workers, Ortega said.
“When this pandemic is over, there will be new norms and for sure, people will flock into tourism spots so through this class, the workers will be prepared. While the mental health issue is often overlooked but it is being dealt with in the class as it is necessary,” he said.
He added the online class at present still encounters some hindrance such as limited slots due to the capacity of the zoom application used, as well as the unavailability of internet connection of some tourism workers.
Meanwhile, DOT-1 has already assisted 165 foreign tourists who were stranded due to the Luzon-wide enhanced community quarantine (ECQ).
“We have ongoing assistance (to) 76 more stranded foreign tourists, 52 of them have canceled flights while 24 already have confirmed flights,” he said.
Ortega added DOT-1’s assistance includes the provision of transportation if the foreigner does not have money, or car rentals if the foreigner has money, and acquiring health certificate that is required for travel back to their home country.
Some 50 domestic tourists were also assisted while there are also some who were not yet able to return to their province.
“We have posted on our Facebook page (Department of Tourism Region 1) other updates and contact numbers so they could reach us if there are tourists in the region who needed assistance,” he said. (PNA)
