FULLY-VACCINATED tourism workers will finally get their booster shots to help keep them safe and increase consumer confidence in their establishments and destinations.
In a news statement, the Department of Tourism (DOT) said booster shots for Covid-19 were being administered to tourism workers in the National Capital Region (NCR) and Boracay Island. Eventually, the project will also be rolled out to other tourism destinations like Baguio City and Davao.
“We are glad to see the growing willingness of our tourism workers to get vaccinated. We continue to encourage them to avail themselves of the free vaccine as this is a critical component for the industry to rebound and thrive in the new normal,” said Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo Puyat. She added the spread of the Omicron variant has also made it imperative for the tourism work force to get their boosters done and give them added protection from infection.
As of January 7, 2022, most regions have already reached an average of 90 percent in vaccination rate among the eligible workers, according to the DOT. However, due to typhoon Odette, “vaccination/booster activities in Siargao, and booster activities in Panglao Island are still on hold this January, as the situation is focused on immediate care and response,” said DOT Undersecretary for Tourism Regulation, Coordination and Resource Generation Christopher V. Morales in a Viber message to the BusinessMirror.
As of January 7, 2022, only 4,960 tourism workers, or 38 percent of the 13,150 target in Siargao have been vaccinated. Romulo Puyat said there was a problem earlier in getting the vaccines administered as the local government said they lacked the manpower to do so. “I asked Makati Med foundation for assistance, and they helped get the vaccination drive going,” she said.
For his part, Morales said they could not ascertain if the vaccines sent to Siargao had been preserved despite the recent typhoon as there were still issues in communicating with the DOT-Caraga office.
La Union was also among the lowest in vaccination rates at 65 percent of 3,273 tourism workers targeted. One of the province’s barangays in the popular surf town of San Juan has closed down for tourism activities due to the spread of Covid-19 in the area. (See, “More tourism venues reel from Covid surge,” in the BusinessMirror, January 10, 2022.)
Dive establishments most vaxxed
Meanwhile, the DOT said 50 percent or 12,693 out of Metro Manila’s 25,386 hotel workers have already received their Covid-19 booster shots. The agency added the National Task Force Against Covid-19 has also committed to allocate 20,000 doses of booster shots to Boracay.
Romulo Puyat said most of the vaccinated tourism workers are from accommodation establishments temporarily operating as isolation or quarantine facilities, regular hotels, tourism enterprises, tourism support services, and community-based tourism organizations.
Of the 325,489 tourism workers targeted for vaccination, 282,780 have already been inoculated against Covid-19 as of yearend, 2021.
Among the high rates of vaccination were recorded in DOT-accredited dive establishments across the country.
Data received from 105 dive establishments and liveaboards dive establishments accredited by the agency, 1,342 or 96 percent of 1,401 employees had already been inoculated (first dose and fully vaccinated) against Covid-19 as of end-November 2021.
The DOT chief said the vaccination of workers in the dive sector will raise the overall readiness of the country to welcome foreign visitors, as well as help in further strengthening its position as one of the leading dive destinations in the world.
“With our recent win as Asia’s leading dive destination at the 28th World Travel Awards (WTA) last October, we anticipate a good volume of foreign tourists returning to our dive spots soon,” said Romulo Puyat.