TOURISTS to Boracay Island don’t need to secure a travel authority from the Philippine National Police (PNP).
This was the comment of Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo Puyat when asked about the requirement by certain carriers of said travel authority. They also don’t need a medical certificate from a government-accredited doctor: “The negative RT-PCR test result will suffice.” She said the Department of Tourism is now correcting the carriers on the requirements for tourists going to Boracay.
This developed as the country’s major carriers are cautiously mounting their flights to Caticlan, Aklan, the gateway to the world-famous Boracay Island, as the latter starts accepting more tourists even from general community quarantine areas.
In a Viber message to the BusinessMirror, Cebu Pacific Airways vice president for marketing and customer experience Candice Iyog said, “At the moment, loads for our flight to Boracay are still building. We intend to operate three times weekly beginning October 1,” or one flight per day every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday.
She added, “Passengers planning to fly to Boracay have to secure a negative RT-PCR test result within 48-72 hours prior to their date of departure. Tourists would also need to submit a health declaration form online [aklan.gov.ph], and pre-register prior to check-in to help the local government monitor arrivals.” Tourists also need to present a “medical certificate from any government-accredited doctor.”
Iyog said, “We welcome this recent development as we believe this marks the beginning of opening more domestic destinations for tourism.”
Air Asia Philippines is offering two flights a day to Caticlan for the whole month of October: Wednesdays, two flights a day beginning October 2; Wednesdays and Fridays starting October 7; and Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays, beginning October 11. “We will see how this turns out, which we will base our November schedule from,” said Mariane Patricia Mantaring of AirAsia Communications.
Among the airline’s requirements: “A medical certificate issued by any government physician, a travel authority pass issued by the Philippine National Police, a health declaration card, a negative RT-PCR test result taken within 72 hours of departure, and booking confirmation details for hotel/resort to be presented upon check-in and arrival.”
Philippine Airlines spokesperson Cielo Villaluna said the airline is flying to Caticlan beginning October 1 with two flights, and two more flights on October 4, 9 and 11. “This will pave the way for a regular twice-weekly service operating every Friday and Sunday from October 16 onwards.”
The airline requires passengers to submit an “RT-PCR negative test result, travel authority, and a confirmed hotel booking in a DOT-accredited hotel,” she said.
The DOT and stakeholders on Boracay are looking forward to the All Saints’ Day break to regain much needed tourism revenue. However, it will only be a three-day holiday, with October 31 being a Saturday and All Souls’ Day, or November 2, a Monday.
Meanwhile, Sen. Nancy Binay on Tuesday said safety and health protocols should be the top priority as Boracay is set to open its doors to local tourists on October 1.
“While we recognize that this is a step towards getting the tourism sector and our economy back on track, we would like to remind the Department of Tourism and would-be travelers that health and safety should always be our first priority,” she said in a statement on Tuesday.
She cited the recent opening of tourism, which triggered a second wave of Covid-19 infections in Croatia and Vietnam. “Perhaps we can learn many lessons from them on why the decision to open the borders to visitors could trigger a resurgence of Covid-19 cases,” said Binay, who chairs the Senate Committee on Tourism.
Binay is puzzled why the DOT lifted the age restrictions for travel to the island, when the Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) has prescribed that minors and senior citizens stay at home while in GCQ or modified GCQ.
“I think many are asking why the age restrictions are relaxed when it comes to Boracay. Children are allowed to travel and go on a vacation but they aren’t allowed to go to school. Physical distancing is mandated, but on the bus and train, we allow passengers to squeeze together. How do we make our messaging clear to the public when government health and safety policies are disconnected and disjointed amongst government agencies?” Binay said in Taglish.
She urged the DOT and the local government in Aklan to ensure their guidelines are in sync and not confusing to those who want to travel. She added, “Traveling is still a major virus carrier, so the LGU should be prepared to handle the influx of tourists, rationalize and restrict the carrying capacity, and also be ready to strictly enforce health protocol compliance in all levels,” she underscored.
A list of DOT-accredited hotels and resorts on Boracay is available on its Facebook page.
Image credits: Brix Villaruel