TACLOBAN CITY – The Department of Tourism (DOT)-Region 8 (Eastern Visayas), together with the Tourism Promotions Board (TPB) and the Federation of Eastern Visayas Motorcyclist Association (FEVMA), recently launched the Philippine Motorcycle Tourism (PMT) in the region.
A total of 200 motorcycle enthusiasts from the FEVMA toured the World War II engagement sites in Leyte this week.
DOT and TPB promote motorcycle road trips to stimulate the return of travel to tourist sites and invigorate domestic tourism as well as advocate road safety.
The program taps motor riders as domestic ambassadors to promote Eastern Visayas as a region of fun and infinite experiences.
DOT Region 8 Director Karina Rosa Tiopes explained that during the height of the pandemic, the travel preference of the tourist market changed.
Outdoor activities became the choice of many.
"To help curb down the incidence of Covid-19 cases, while at the same time promoting tourism restart, the DOT also encouraged local and domestic tourists to travel in safe bubbles," Tiopes said.
She noted that several individuals have started to go on long motorcycle rides to visit tourism sites, try out the local food scene, search for locally crafted products, and experience visitor activities in places within reach through road trips.
To introduce the local scene, DOT Region 8 launched “Infinite Road Trips in Eastern Visayas” where themed motorcycle road trips will introduce the World War II Motorcycle Trail.
Route includes stops in Tacloban City (Sto. Nino Church, Tacloban City Hall, World War II Japanese Shrine, and Leyte Provincial Capitol). It also features the municipalities of Dagami (Japanese Marker, Old Dagami Cemetery, and Bloody Ridge Tunnel), Burauen (Japanese Marker, Madonna Statue, and Justice Romualdez Monument), Dulag (Capt. Isao Yamazoe Shrine, Dulag Church Ruins, Liberation Park, and Catmon Hill), Tolosa (Scout Abello Marker), and Palo (Palo Metropolitan Cathedral, Palo Municipal Hall Grounds, and MacArthur Leyte Landing Memorial National Park).