At a cost of P10 million
TACLOBAN CITY – The local government unit of Guiuan in Eastern Samar and the Tourism Infrastructure Enterprise Zone Authority (TIEZA), an attached agency of the Department of Tourism (DOT), signed a memorandum of agreement last week about the construction of a tourist rest area (TRA) in Calicoan Island.
The TRA is a flagship program of Tourism Secretary Christina Garcia Frasco where foreign and local tourists can approach to get information on tourism sites, activities, accommodation, and other concerns.
This will also provide information to tourists on safety and security protocols while they are staying in the area.
The establishment and construction of a TRA will promote, encourage, and develop tourism as a major socio-economic activity and to further improve tourism infrastructure and accessibility for the enhancement of the overall tourist experience.
In the region, Calicoan is one of the two areas identified for the construction of TRA.
The other one is in Tacloban City, the region’s capital which will be put up at the ‘Balyuan Grounds.’
The Calicoan and Tacloban tourist facilities are part of the second batch of TRA that the DOT and TIEZA will fund and open in the whole country.
The MOA signing between the municipal government of Guiuan, as represented by Mayor Analiza Gonzales-Kwan, and TIEZA sealed the construction of the P10 million facility in Calicoan – a top surfing destination in the region.
The facility will also have a ‘pasalubong’ center where micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) producers may display and sell their products for tourists and visitors to buy, public toilets and showers, and a tourist police station.
The facility will also have a rain harvesting system and solar power energy which is a standard design of all TRA’s in the Philippines.
(ROEL T. AMAZONA)
