WITH nonessential outbound travel now allowed, Filipinos will be able to go on vacation in seven countries that have no travel restrictions against them. According to the Department of Foreign Affairs’ travel advisory, as of October 11, 2020, these countries are Haiti, Mexico, Andorra, Montenegro, New Macedonia, Serbia, and Zambia.
Countries like the United States, Azerbaijan, and Somalia allow Filipinos to enter their countries, “subject to flight availability and other special arrangements/commercial flights.” The Philippines’s nearest neighbors and usual vacation destinations like Hong Kong and Japan for instance, allow the entry of Filipinos subject to Covid-19 screening, and government visa regulations in the case of Japan. (https://bit.ly/3j9bb67)
Ritchie Tuaño, president of the Philippine Travel Agencies Association (PTAA), told the BusinessMirror, “We don’t expect an immediate spike in international outbound travel since most of the international borders, our neighboring countries in particular, have not opened up yet.” In the case of Singapore, noncitizens are subject to a 14-day quarantine at a facility of the government’s choosing.
He added, “There is a significant amount of interest but the willingness to immediately travel is still wrapped with anxiety or fear of being infected. It will likely take a while for traveler confidence to get back but this is still good to start it.”
Under the Inter-Agency Task Force for Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) conditions, nonessential outbound travel is allowed starting October 21, with only a negative antigen test 24 hours before departure to be presented. In contrast, an RT-PCR test is needed when traveling to domestic destinations.
Also, outbound travelers need to have confirmed roundtrip tickets, travel and health insurance, and sign a declaration before departure that they know of the risks involved in traveling abroad.
“Allowing it [nonessential outbound travel] throws the blame of frustration on the Filipino-banning country,” said Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro L. Locsin Jr. in a Viber message. “That also means, Pinoys must get RT-PCR just in case the destination is strict. I have told foreign countries to accept only Red Cross testing.”
He added partly in jest, “The initiative [to allow nonessential outbound travel] is mine because I am a sucker for romance and letting nurses go where they are appreciated.” The DFA chief was referring to the #LoveNotTourism appeals by foreigners and their Filipino fiancees to allow inbound travel so they could get married. The DFA, however, does not issue fiancee visas. With the lifting of nonessential outbound travel, the fiancees here can leave to reunite with their beaus abroad.
Otherwise, they can “get married online or have a kid with acknowledgement of dad’s paternity with inheritance rights, then Constitution on family unity kicks in,” he explained, and only then can the foreigner be allowed to travel to the Philippines. Locsin had also championed early on the move to allow Filipino nurses to leave and work abroad.
Meanwhile, travel agencies also expressed wariness over the IATF-EID decision last week to allow travel agencies to reopen at 50 percent capacity, after travel and tourism-related companies were moved to Category 3 from Category 4.
PTAA’s Tuaño said his members “welcomed with caution the decision…allowing the resumption of travel agency operations. With domestic travel bubbles being created along with the resumption of international leisure travel, we see travel agencies being a vital component in again reestablishing tourism as a key component of the Philippine economy.”
But he added, his members “might be initially cautious and only resume operations when there is already a reasonable demand for travel among Filipinos that will allow them to sufficiently cover overhead costs of their operations.”
He implored “the public’s understanding that financial liquidity is still a big concern for travel agencies. The PTAA is still in the process of assisting its members gain access to the financial packages and soft loans provided in Bayanihan 2 and get airline refunds that have dated for more than six months.”
Tuaño acknowledges there are “a few travel agencies which also want to open. [But] no, not yet many are inclined. The immediate expected revenue cannot cover the monthly overhead.”