THE Province of Negos Occidental led by Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson launched the LakBAYANihan tourism fair at Ayala Malls Capitol Central in Bacolod City Monday, May 16.With the participation of the various local government tourism heads, the affair aims to reverse the state of the province’s tourism industry after it was badly hit by the Coronavirus disease (Covid-19) pandemic.Lacson said it is now common knowledge that the tourism sector was among those gravely altered and affected by the Covid-19 crisis and that the pandemic, although upsetting and unwelcome, nonetheless presented an opportunity for us to build our capacities and innovate.“For two years, everyone waited for the day when we can enjoy the different facets of tourism once again and now, here we are, opening our province to travelers and tourism, though carefully and cautiously,” he said.Lacson added that the fact that this is the first tourism fair since the pandemic began is widely participated by almost all local government units in the province including the highly-urbanized City of Bacolod.The governor said the activity is a demonstration and affirmation of Negrense’s resilience, and as such, everyone should continue to persevere and will not allow the prospects of our province and our people to be dimmed by the crisis.“To our participants, fairs like this are good opportunities for you to showcase not just your produce and tourism offerings, but also to show your talent in innovation (and) how you can further develop your products and tourism potential,” Lacson told the participants.The official stressed that imagination, mastery of the goods, and most of all, courage are the keys to innovation.“Despite the setbacks of the pandemic, we are still in the era of globalization (while) technology has given us great windows of opportunity to show our potential to the world,” he said.He lauded the tourism promotions board, Tourism Region 6 Director Christine Mansinares, the Local Chief Executives, Tourism Officers, Tourism Associations, the National Tour Operators Associations, and our media partners, thank you for your committed support to Negros Occidental tourism.For her part, Mansinares congratulated the effort of the Provincial Government as well as of the LGUs in fully reopening our doors to domestic & foreign tourists.“Safety is one of the top considerations of travelers now and our tourism enterprises (TEs) must adhere to a set of health and safety standards and to assist our TEs in their compliance, we brought the entire Tourism Regulation Division team from the real office for the weeklong DOT accreditation on wheels program,” she said.Manisanares disclosed that they are targeting 50 more enterprises to process their applications through booths at the Lakbayanihan Fair.Negros Occidental including Bacolod ranked second in the region in terms of the number of accredited TEs with 270.“Apart from the tourism standards, we are also extending our assistance to the province and Slow Food Community of Negros Island in developing Slow Food Travel,” Mansinares said, adding that it aims to bring travelers closer to the preservation of food biodiversity and an understanding of local cultures, identities, and local cuisines which is also one of the advocacies of Secretary Bernadette Puyat.*