No one can deny the fact that during the past few years, motorcycle riders have been a huge contributor in the country’s local tourism economy. Due to the motorcycle’s fairly affordable gas consumption and its versatility, motorcycle riders, who often travel in groups, can be found in almost all of the popular tourist destinations around the country every weekend.
Unfortunately, due to the coronavirus pandemic, travel has been restricted and one of the most affected is the tourism industry.
Mount Pinatubo, via Capas Tarlac (Photo by At Maculangan)
Having noticed the big contribution of motorcycle riders and to help this industry bounce back, the Department of Tourism (DOT), through the Tourism Promotions Board (TPB), has launched the “Motourismo” campaign. Motourismo – a portmanteau of motorcycle and tourism (turismo in Filipino) – is a motorcycle tourism caravan that is geared towards re-discovering the country’s sights on two wheels. That being said, the program aims to tap the help of the motorcycle community by encouraging them to ride as often as they like to tourist destinations around the country where the COVID-19 health and safety protocols are at a minimum.
“By initiating this safe yet very thrilling and worthwhile campaign to promote motorcycle tourism through TPB, we want to restore the confidence of the public to travel domestically and help the tourism industry to bounce back from the negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic crisis,” said tourism secretary, Bernadette Romulo–Puyat.
Balacay Point, Baras, Catanduanes
Motourismo is also seen as a way to pave new opportunities for those who lost their jobs in the tourism sector, and could also encourage tour operators to create new tour programs to be offered to both domestic and international tourists, help small businesses, and generally serve as a platform to disseminate information on safety and health protocols when people go outside.
Thoroughly planned during the past few months, Motourismo has come into fruition with TPB’s collaboration with DOT, Department of Transportation (DOTr), RidePH, and numerous motorcycle rider clubs and associations in the Philippines.
