FOREIGN tourists continue to be interested in visiting the Philippines, but the topmost question on their mind is, when is it going to reopen to inbound travel?
This was apparent in Monday’s Philippines country presentation before international tourism stakeholders and travel buyers on the first day of the World Travel Market in London, being held virtually for the first time, until November 11.
In the open forum following her presentation, Tourism Promotions Board Chief Operating Officer Ma. Anthonette C. Velasco-Allones explained the country’s setup in laying the health and safety standards, which starts at the national level, with the Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID), and local government units (LGUs) implementing their own “varying protocols. It depends on the reality on the ground, and these realities include the actual capacity of the locality in terms of the health system and the Covid situation. We are blessed that a lot of our islands have remained Covid-free.”
While the Philippine government has already allowed domestic tourism to help in the economic recovery, Allones could not give a timeframe when the country would reopen, when asked by overseas travel buyers.
“We have remained, as most countries have been, closed, or we have restricted travel from foreign visitors as I speak to you. Now, when can we expect to open tourism not just for UK visitors but for other foreign visitors from the countries from where we have traditionally welcomed guests—it’s a question that I won’t be able to answer. To my mind, this really requires the collaborative and collective decision of the countries within the region, meaning Southeast Asia. And of course beyond this, looking at the timeline, I think this has to do with the question of whether there’s a vaccine available, or the readiness of the destinations to also receive visitors right now.”
She noted that the Philippines has also been exploring the creation of travel bubbles and travel corridors with certain countries. “So direct flights that will bring tourists from the point of origin to the point of destination in the Philippines is something that we are very quite positive about, and we are optimistic that this would be doable given the success that we’ve seen so far within the country in terms of managing the Covid situation in the different [tourism destination].”
Allones also briefed participants in the country session the different visitor limits in newly reopened tourism destinations, i.e., 500 per day in Baguio City, and over 2,000 in Boracay Island, as well as the use by LGUs of different digital platforms to upload health declaration forms QR codes, as well as the Travel Philippines app developed by the TPB.
Asked whether it was even practical to sell the Philippines to foreign travel buyers, when government could not assure when it reopens to inbound tourists, the TPB chief told the BusinessMirror, “I wish I really have the answer to that question. That’s why I made sure the deck I presented was focused on sustaining the interest to travel and also truthfully situation them on our status.”
She expressed optimism that instead of appearing disorganized to foreign tourists, “the local protocols, while varying, point to an indication that we are organized because we even have granular specificity in terms of the various aspects.” At Monday’s ministers meeting, Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo Puyat said among the barriers to international travel is the high cost of insurance premiums and the RT-PCR test. (See, “Tourism ministers, travel CEOs push for antigen testing,” in the BusinessMirror, November 9, 2020.)
At this year’s WTM 2020, the Department of Tourism and its marketing arm, the TPB have the Philippine exhibit online, showcasing destinations such as Palawan, Boracay, Bohol, the Cordilleras, Iloilo, and Manila to foreign buyers. Thirty local stakeholders, which have been conducting B2B meetings online with foreign buyers, have joined this year’s WTM. Among them are: Annset Holidays Inc., Baron Travel Corp., Bohol Beach Club, CTPH Tour Philippines, Discovery Hospitality, El Nido Resorts, Hello PH! Tourism Inc., Intas Destinations Management Inc., Movenpick Resort and Spa Boracay, Amorita Resort and Funny Lion, Travelexperts Inc., Travelite Travel and Tours, Kapwa Travel and Tours Inc., and Blue Horizons Travel and Tours Inc.
The WTM is the leading global travel and trade exhibition, normally held in London, but now in virtual mode due to Covid-19.
Meanwhile, 7,200 hotels, resorts and other accommodation establishments located under different community quarantine qualifications, received their certificate of authority to operate (CAO) or provisional CAO from the DOT.
In a news statement, Romulo Puyat said, these certificates “adds to guests’ confidence, knowing that these establishments have been inspected and are compliant with our protocols that follow globally recognized health and safety standards. We are happy to see the numbers go up as more tourism destinations reopen for domestic travelers.” (Visit www.philippines.travel/accreditation for the full list of tourism enterprises with COAs.)