The threat of the fast-spreading 2019 novel coronavirus (nCoV) has no adverse effects so far on tourism-related businesses in Iloilo City.
Happy Abenir, spokesperson of the Iloilo Hotels Resorts and Restaurants Association (IHRRA), admitted that there were booking cancellations due to the nCoV scare.
But she said the cancellations remained “minimal.” “I have not received reports of major cancellations from our members.”
Abenir attributed the minimal booking cancellations to the fact that majority of Iloilo’s visitors are local tourists.
“Iloilo is not like Boracay that welcomes huge numbers of foreign tourists every month,” she said.
“Travelers come to Iloilo not only for tourism purposes but also for business, for investment, for opportunities, and then they check the place out,” she said.
The “city government has done a great job in generating our local tourism in terms of those who like to travel and see Iloilo and those who would like to invest in Iloilo,” Abenir added.
IHRRA, which has at least 75 members, is closely coordinating with various government agencies in preparing for the new coronavirus.
Abenir said as protocol, any establishment with guests showing signs and symptoms of the coronavirus must call the Department of Health (DOH) or the City Health Office (CHO).
A medical team of doctors and nurses will be sent to the establishment to check, monitor, and make the recommendation for the suspected case.
“The patient is not transported first not until upon the recommendation of the DOH and the CHO,” Abenir said.
According to the DOH-6, there are two persons under investigations (PUIs) for possible nCoV infection in Iloilo City. The first patient tested negative for the illness while the second PUI is still confined in a hospital.
All in all, the DOH-6 recorded 14 PUIs in Western Visayas as Feb. 5. Of the number, nine are confined while five have been discharged.IMT (with a report from PNA)
