Eastern Samar Governor Ben Evardone has asked all local government units in the province to create a tour package that could help boost their tourism industry.

Evardone said on Monday that he recently had a meeting with the mayors and local tourism officers of all their 23 towns and one city and discussed with them how to better market the province.

He said he asked them to prepare and submit to the provincial office their proposed tour package by March to help increase the number of visitors from Manila and Cebu.

This way, he said, they would be able to help Philippine Airlines (PAL) to sustain its operations in the province.

The flag carrier launched its Manila-Cebu-Borongan flight and vice versa in December last year.

Since the opening of flights at Borongan City Airport, the city government has recorded more than 900 passengers that fly from the city airport to Cebu and Manila instead of traveling four to five hours to Tacloban Airport.

“This is a big advantage for us, having a flight here in the province. That is why we need to help to sustain its operations, and our local officials can do it by promoting the tourist destinations in our respective places,” Evardone said.

He said each town has something to offer, and it is up to every municipality how they are going to market their destinations.

Evardone said they need to come up with something that would compel tourists to visit their respective towns, he said.

“This is a golden opportunity for our province because access is already available. We have to capitalize on this, maximize this, and exploit this in order for our province to be promoted by our tourism sector,” he added.

During the meeting, Department of Tourism Regional Office Operations chief, Ma. Catherina Apostol, presented a sample tour package, which the LGUs may use as a guide.

She urged local officials and tourism officers to ensure that all sites included in the package would have basic facilities such as clean and comfortable toilets. (PNA)