At least 60 tourism workers in Samar received the first dose of anti-Covid-19 vaccines on Tuesday as part of the celebration of World Tourism Day 2021 in the province.

The 60 individuals who got protection against Covid-19 are workers in hotels and community-based tourism sites and activities run by people’s organizations from the towns of Basey and Paranas, and this city.

Department of Tourism regional director Karina Rosa Tiopes said these workers have been selected since their workplaces have already opened.

The province has an estimated 695 workers in tourism sites and establishments allowed to operate during the pandemic.

Only 200 of them have been included in the initial list submitted to the DOT regional office.

Local government units are still in the process of gathering the list of tourism workers in hotels and restaurants in their respective places, according to Tiopes.

Vaccinating tourism workers is part of the agency’s campaign for a safe tourism restart.

With vaccinated tourism workers, this will boost the confidence of tourists to visit destinations in the region.

“We need to keep workers safe and protected not just those based in urban centers, but those tourism partners in the community,” Tiopes said.

The official said Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat vowed to allocate Covid-19 vaccines for tourism workers.

The tourism official also encouraged governors and mayors to allocate vaccines for tourism workers.

This will pave the way to resume the operation of tourism establishments and help improve the local economy. (PNA)