THE Department of Tourism-Cordillera (DOT-CAR), the Baguio City government, and the Baguio Tourism Council (BTC) have teamed up to vaccinate some 7,500 tourism workers in the city.
The 7,500 workers were targeted as part of an initiative to ensure that these workers, who were likely to come into contact with domestic tourists and residents alike, were vaccinated for safety purposes.
Initially, the city set aside 4,000 doses for the tourism workers, but the city’s tourism workforce came out in force to exceed the allotment, according to the tourism department.
From August 30 to September 1, the city vaccinated tourism workers with jabs acquired by the BTC, DOT-CAR, Baguio Country Club, Navy reserve volunteers, among other groups.
Prior to the mass vaccination effort, only 454 or less than nine percent of the city’s registered tourism workers in various tourism-related businesses and establishments were found to have been vaccinated.
The vaccination efforts were supposed to take place at another time but were readjusted to the current schedule in order to coincide with the presence of Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat in the city.
“The vaccination of our tourism workers will add another layer of protection for guests and staff, on top of continued adherence to health and safety protocols. With the increased confidence of people to travel, we hope to sustain the gradual growth of tourism that was started when Baguio was first reopened last October,” Puyat said.
The city is also continuing its regular vaccination efforts for members of the city’s other economic sectors, as well as its mobile vaccination efforts for senior citizens and other bedridden individuals who cannot go in person to the city’s vaccination sites.
