The management of market-ready tourism sites and services in Eastern Visayas will meet with tour operators to come up with new tour packages in anticipation of increasing tourist arrival due to eased travel restrictions.

The business-to-business (B2B) session, which will be held on March 26 at Summit Hotel here, will gather about 30 tourism sites and services operators for a meeting with local buyers such as tour operators, tour guides, and tourist transport service providers.

“Since the pandemic broke out, many of our tour operators have no updates about our existing destinations. Through this gathering, the seller and buyer will share updates about the destination and adjusted cost as well,” said Department of Tourism Eastern Visayas regional director Karena Rosa Tiopes in a phone interview Thursday.

The event is expected to create new or updated tour packages for the region’s market-ready destinations, Tiopes said.

Local tourism officers have been sending a list of destinations that will be considered in the B2B event.

The tourism department is still assessing which site could be considered market-ready.

The region consists of the provinces of Biliran, Eastern Samar, Leyte, Northern Samar, Samar, and Southern Leyte, and the cities of Baybay, Borongan, Calbayog, Catbalogan, Maasin, Ormoc, and Tacloban, which is the Eastern Visayas’ regional center.

Among its popular destinations are Kalanggaman Island, San Juanico Bridge, Leyte Landing Memorial in Leyte; Sambawan Island in Biliran; dive sites in Southern Leyte; Calicoan Island in Eastern Samar; Sohoton Cave and Natural Park in Samar; and Biri Rock Formations in Northern Samar.

The region remains relatively under-the-radar compared to other tourist destinations in the Philippines, but this has been slowly changing in the past years as demand for raw nature tourism grows, Tiopes added. (PNA)