SECONDARY tourism enterprises will soon be required to register with the City Tourism Operations Office (CTOO) once the Amended Tourism Code is approved.
According to the proposed ordinance, secondary tourism enterprises are “facilities and services that are related to tourism.”
This includes restaurants, malls, shops, department stores, sports and recreational facilities, ecotourism, health and wellness centers, museums, theme parks, and marinas.
“[For] secondary tourism enterprises, it is optional for them to get a registration from the Department of Tourism but they are required to register at the CTOO,” said Councilor Al Ryan Alejandre, who heads the committee on tourism and beautification, in a phone interview with Sun.Star Davao.
He said primary tourism enterprises — facilities, services, and attractions that are directly related or involved to tourism — are required to get a registration from both the DOT and CTOO.
Alejandre said it is important that the secondary tourism enterprises are registered to them so that they will be able to monitor these enterprises closely.
He said they will also be able to update the tourism players of what is new in the city which can affect them like new laws from the city or from the national level.
“This will also be a venue for us to help them in improving their craft or services,” he said.
The proposed code states that, “no person, natural or juridical, shall keep, manage, or operate any building, edifice or premises or a completely independent part thereof, for the purpose of engaging in the business of tourism enterprises without first having issued a Certificate of Registration by the Office and a Mayor’s Permit to operate as such by the City Mayor.”
The proposed Amended Tourism Code was recently passed under the first reading and is currently in its second reading.
Alejandre said he is set to further discuss each provision of the proposed code to his fellow councilors in the upcoming city council sessions.
Published in the Sun.Star Davao newspaper on October 07, 2014.
