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The Department of Tourism (DOT) has allowed hotels to resume operations up to 100 percent of capacity, but operators said travel documentation requirements must first be relaxed to bring in guests.
In Cebu City, Mayor Edgardo Labella said on Wednesday, October 21, 2020, that the city has yet to assess the risk of allowing hotels to operate at full capacity.
He said the City has to determine whether allowing hotels to accept more guests would not compromise the health of tourists and employees.
By virtue of its Resolution 79, the Interagency Task Force (IATF) for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases authorized DOT to determine which hotels can operate at full capacity in areas placed under general community quarantine (GCQ) and modified general community quarantine ( MGCQ). ).
DOT Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat in a statement Wednesday said it will be up to hotel management to implement 100 percent of operational capacity with strict adherence to security protocols.
Puyat said the DOT will soon release the amended guidelines.
However, the Cebu Inc. Hotels, Resorts and Restaurants Association (HRRAC) urged local government units (LGUs) to first relax documentation requirements for travelers.
Some border restrictions hamper the movement of potential tourists, and there is still little or no market for some hotels, the group said.
Alfred Reyes, vice president of HRRAC, said relaxing travel requirements would build consumer confidence.
“Urban hotels are still in survival mode. If we want to bring tourism back, we must start with the domestic market, ”he said.
Guests of business process outsourcing companies have pulled out following the relaxation of overseas travel restrictions, he said. There are also fewer arrivals of Filipino workers abroad.
Reyes said 95 percent of the hotels and resorts in Lapu-Lapu City and 90 percent of those in the province have been operating at 50 percent of capacity under MGCQ.
But with an average of only 25 rooms occupied per day, Reyes said a hotel would not survive if it increased operations to 100 percent capacity.
“How many employees do you want back to work? How can you get people back to work if you only have 25 rooms occupied? Reyes said.
Reyes said there is still a lot of work to be done in terms of building consumer confidence.
“First, pressure should be placed with the national government so that the LGUs relax controls,” he said.
IATF Resolution 79 also allows unauthorized persons outside of residences (not Apor) to travel between areas located under GCQ and MGCQ.
Non-Apors can also move through areas with the same quarantine classification, either GCQ or MGCQ.
The same resolution changed the age range of persons authorized outside their homes from 15 to 65 years.
“These new policies, approved by the IATF, support the Department’s programs aimed at rebuilding the tourism industry to regain lost jobs and livelihoods and shake up local economies,” Puyat said in his statement.
“Flexible travel movements, however, do not mean that we will relax our health standards. We will continue to work with the LGUs to enforce security protocols and improve hygiene measures in all sectors of the tourism industry, ”he added.
Cebu is home to more than 10,000 hotels, according to DOT data.
The tourism industry in Central Visayas, which generated P97 billion in revenue in 2019, lost an estimated P87 billion in foregone revenue from January to June 2020 when the coronavirus pandemic paralyzed the travel industry and closed hotels, resorts tourist and tourist destinations. (WORK with JJL)
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