VETERAN tour operator Fe Abling-Yu was anxious.
As she sat at home, working on her laptop at the dining table, she received the news that the lockdown in the National Capital Region (NCR) has finally been lifted. But a new alert level system had been put in place, with NCR initially under Alert Level 4, then just recently, Alert Level 3—allowing more businesses to reopen and permitting more free movement of its residents, albeit with age restrictions still in place, to supposedly protect the most vulnerable sectors of society from the dreaded Delta variant of the Covid-19 virus.
“So before that alert system, NCR was locked down in a ’plus’ with Calabarzon and other provinces. That would have been a good move, because that was a bubble, which allowed people to travel within those areas,” said Abling-Yu, general manager of the 26-year-old Arfel Travel and Tours. When NCR was on its third lockdown, “We sold tour packages for Rizal and Laguna; we harvested dragon fruit in Rizal, visited old churches in Laguna, ate the local cuisine in Paete, etc.,” she said.
“We were also preparing a tour package for Bulacan which included cruising down Calumpit River…. But they [government] changed their guidelines again. And now the ’plus’ provinces have separate quarantine rules from NCR. So nawala na naman ’yung tours namin [so, that says goodbye to our tours],” she added, sighing in exasperation.
Due to the international and local border restrictions put in place to contain the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic, the Philippine tourism industry has lost an estimated P467 billion in international tourism receipts, and P2.6 trillion in domestic revenue in 2020. About 4.8 million tourism workers have also been “displaced, or are working less,” according to the Department of Tourism.
But almost two years in its war on Covid-19, government’s Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF), with President Duterte as overall chairman, continues to issue confusing guidelines—and sometimes conflicting regulations—which directly impact many leisure destinations in the country, as well as on the survival of numerous accommodation establishments, airlines, and other sectors in the travel and hospitality industry.
‘Near-death’ experiences
TOURISM stakeholders quickly pivot to find alternative revenue streams, but once new rules are issued by the IATF, almost all strategies and plans end up in the trash bin.
Ramon Vinzon, general manager of The Cocoon Boutique Hotel and its sister property, Hive Hotel and Convention Place, in Quezon City, said, “With the ever-changing health and economic landscape, we already found ourselves facing many ’near-death experiences.’ We have endured the cancellation of countless bookings that we count on to help pay the bills and keep the business afloat.”
Initially, they serviced BPO employees when transportation was unavailable during the first lockdown last year. When transport restrictions were eased, the hotels pivoted to the needs of the nearby TV networks for closed-in sets and tapings. “We eventually decided to convert Hive to a quarantine hotel, when the IATF guidelines became so stringent that we practically could not accept any other bookings except quarantine bookings.”
Meanwhile, the DOT tries to encourage balikbayans to come home this Christmas. But the United States, from which the bulk of homecoming Filipinos come, continues to be on the Yellow List of countries, indicating moderate risk for Covid-19. Even those vaccinated have to undergo a five-day quarantine in a government-accredited hotel, and have to present proof of their vaccination. This, obviously, is a disincentive to balikbayans with limited vacation periods.
On October 9, the IATF ruled that “the national digital certificate of the foreign government which has accepted the VaxCertPH under a reciprocal arrangement or the [World Health Organization]-issued International Certificate of Vaccination or Prophylaxis (ICVP)” are to be presented upon arrival “for purposes of verification/confirmation of vaccination status for non-OFWs [overseas Filipino workers] and foreigners fully vaccinated abroad.”
Upon checking, however, the BusinessMirror found out that there were still no countries that accept the VaxCertPH, nor has the WHO provided for the use of the ICVP to indicate Covid-19 inoculations. The ICVP or so-called Carte Jeune (Yellow Card) is often used by international travelers to indicate vaccinations for malaria and yellow fever, a requirement in some countries.
Six days later, the IATF changed its tune, and decided to accept federal vaccination certificates in the US and Canada as proof of vaccination status. (See, “State vaccination certificates now recognized for entry into PHL,” in the BusinessMirror, October 15, 2021.)
The primary goal
For MSMEs such as Cocoon and Hive, “Financial survival is our primary goal,” said Vinzon. “We believe that withstanding the pandemic is the greatest investment we can make for the business to have firm ground to stand on for whatever lies ahead. While we look forward to what the OCTA Research Group describes as a ’Happy Christmas’ for 2021, we prefer to move forward with a sense of cautious optimism. Covid remains to be an unpredictable enemy,” he underscored.
Fortunately, the IATF has resumed allowing limited social gatherings, MICE events and staycations under Alert Level 3 in Metro Manila. Even the unvaccinated, such as children, are permitted to join staycations with their parents, as long as they present a negative RT-PCR test. (See, “Staycations, socials, MICE now allowed under AL 3,” in the BusinessMirror, October 14, 2021.)
For her part, Abling-Yu believes the tide will start turning in 2022, washing in a wave of tourism recovery. She is already receiving lots of inquiries from foreign buyers and local incentive tour groups for tour packages. “During the recent Philippine Travel Exchange, we received an inquiry from a Malaysian buyer who wanted to bring a planeload of French tourists to Boracay; it’s like a bubble, if only our government allowed it daw. They will come from France, land in Kuala Lumpur, then [after touring there] go to Boracay. I think it’s possible if we have proper coordination.”
Also, a number of local companies now want to book their incentive tours or planning conferences outside Metro Manila. “They just confirmed it, so on November 18, I’m bringing a corporate account group to Iloilo [and Guimaras] for their planning. Other corporate accounts are looking to travel to Baguio, Benguet, then get their tattoos from Apo Wang-od.”
Barring any more surges or lockdowns, Abling hopes by next year, she’ll be back in the office with her employees, busily answering their phones, and e-mailing more clients to confirm tour packages.