Metro Manila, July 13 ------ An international cruise ship terminal is set to open this October in Siargao Island to help boost the country's tourism sector, the Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) said. "Maraming nagre-request na mga cruise operator to go directly to Siargao," PPA General Manager Jay Santiago said in a briefing. "We will break ground before the end of the year in a dedicated cruise terminal also in Coron, Palawan," he added.
Santiago said it will help prevent the surge of tourists in airports, especially in peak seasons where at least 12 million tourists are expected to arrive in the country annually. Aside from Siargao and Coron, cruise ship terminals are also eyed in Currimao and Salomague in Ilocos, Legazpi and Camiguin in the Bicol region, Boracay, and Panglao in Bohol. "Similar to the airports, we want to be able to build exclusively-dedicated cruise terminals na ang talagang focus niya is to accept foreign tourists. When they arrive, malinis, maaliwalas ang facility," Santiago said.
The agency also launched its Port Users and Locators Satisfaction Outlook (PULSO), a real-time customer feedbacking system for tourists. Through PULSO kiosks scattered across several sites, passengers can submit feedback on their travel experience which will become PPA's basis for improving services.
Source: cnnphilippines.com
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