METRO Manila residents between the ages of 18 and 65 may travel to Boracay Island and other leisure destinations under general community quarantine (GCQ) and modified GCQ status starting September 16, but subject to the respective local government’s requirements for tourists.
What they can’t do, however, are check into hotels in the metro, or attend any social gatherings or events outside of their households, as staycations as well as social events in indoor venues are banned. These are according to the latest guidelines by the Department of Tourism (DOT), based on the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases’s (IATF) new, experimental quarantine classifications for the National Capital Region (NCR).
For leisure travelers who might be required by destinations to submit RT-PCR tests, the Tourism Promotions Board (TPB) said it has resumed the processing of applications for subsidized tests at the Philippine Children’s Medical Center in Quezon City. The TPB is the marketing arm of the DOT.
Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo Puyat, who is TPB chair, said the subsidized test would help lower the travel cost of domestic tourists, but at the same time, increase consumer spending, with more people traveling.
“We are doing whatever we can to help the industry and its stakeholders recoup their losses and ensure security and sustainability amid this pandemic,” she added.
Travelers may apply for the subsidy at https://bit.ly/3tDWXRy Domestic tourists deemed qualified for the subsidy only have to pay P750.
DOT encourages vaxxed diners in hotel restos
Malacañang announced on Tuesday that NCR will be placed under GCQ-Alert Level 4 from September 16 to 30, 2021. Level 4 “refers to areas wherein case counts are high and/or increasing, with total bed utilization rate and intensive care unit utilization rate at high utilization,” as per the IATF. Local governments may likewise impose granular lockdowns specific to their respective barangays, disallowing even leisure travelers from leaving said areas.
In a news statement, Romulo Puyat also said outdoor or al fresco dining will be allowed at 30 percent of the restaurant’s capacity, regardless of vaccination status, while indoor dining is permitted for fully vaccinated individuals at 10 percent of the indoor capacity.
“Allowing fully vaccinated guests to dine in restaurants located inside DOT-accredited hotels and restaurants will slowly help restart the economy while making sure all our tourism workers and guests are safe,” she added.
The DOT chief noted the high inoculation rate among tourism workers in Metro Manila hotels, which will make dining in the latter’s food and beverage outlets safe. “This is an added assurance, not only to the safety of our guests, but our tourism workers as well,” she said.
Meanwhile, Romulo Puyat stressed interzonal travel to GCQ and MGCQ areas “should only be point-to-point, i.e., pit stops or stopovers are allowed for eating and personal necessities, but no side trips shall be made to other tourism destinations.”
She also reminded all tourism-related establishments in the NCR that indoor visitor or tourist attractions, and indoor venues for Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, Exhibitions (MICE) are prohibited from operating under Alert Level 4. “In light of the rising Covid-19 cases across the country, everyone is strongly reminded to observe the minimum health and safety protocols at all times,” she said.
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