The Philippine Travel Agencies Association (PTAA) has handed over a financial donation amounting to PHP532,637.30 to a nonprofit, helping improve the Abatan river tour project in Bohol.

The donation will be used to purchase a 20-seater boat complete with engine, says Punch Jose, former executive vice president and chairperson for the calamity task force of PTAA.

Bohol is already known for the Loboc river cruise. The Abatan River Community Live Tour project, on the other hand, is a community-based ecotourism product that covers five municipalities. The project is managed by the nonprofit PROCESS Bohol, which received PTAA’s donation.

Only three of the towns along the river, namely Cortes, Maribojoc, and Antequera, are accessible now through the tour. A representative from the provincial government said that the other two towns, Balilihan and Catigbian, may soon be part again of the tour after they were temporarily detached from the itinerary because of the earthquake in 2013.

Bohol’s provincial government is bullish about tourism even after suffering losses from the earthquake. The Abatan river tour is among the several products the government is pushing as alternative to damaged attractions.

The formal handover was done during the opening ceremony of the Visit Bohol 2015 travel fair at Glorietta activity center in Makati. The fair will run until tomorrow, January 11.