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The Philippines has made it onto the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) list of safe travel destinations and was awarded a seal making it official as the 100th destination of its kind.
In a press release, the largest private sector organization of tourism and travel leaders and experts said the Philippines was among the 100 destinations that now use its “Safe Travels” seal, which means that the country has adopted protocols for health and safety in accordance with global standards. .
WTTC President and CEO Gloria Guevara said: “The 100 destinations that now proudly wear the seal are working together to help rebuild consumer confidence around the world. We welcome the Philippines, an incredible destination and home to some of the most beautiful islands in the world, as our 100th destination, as well as other popular destinations around the world such as Turkey, Egypt, Indonesia and Kenya. ”
This developed when the Department of Tourism (DOT) finally released a list of open tourist sites in the country, on its Philippines travel website. (https://bit.ly/32NxTf7).
However, a look at the list showed that many of the sites were open only to tourists in the locality or region in which the site is located. Inbound travel into the country is not yet allowed, except for overseas Filipino workers, returning overseas Filipinos, as well as members of the diplomatic corps and international relief and humanitarian organizations.
The only tourist sites “generally open to [the] public ”were located in the Davao region, for example, Davao Crocodile Park and Eden Nature Park (Davao City), Dahican Beach in Mati (East Davao), Leonard Lake and Mt. Pattung / Sea of Clouds (Davao de Oro), and Samal Island and Tagum City (Davao del Norte).
Also “open to tourists” are the El Kabayo stables and the Luisita Golf and Country Club golf course in Tarlac.
Those that are open to tourists from general community quarantine (GCQ) and modified GCQ areas are Las Casas de Acuzar in Bataan; several tourist establishments in the Clark free port and golf courses in Pampanga, along with the famous Bacolor Church.
Ocean Adventure at the Subic Bay free port in Zambales, which was recently made famous by Presidential Spokesman Harry Roque’s “dolphin encounter” visit, is open to visitors to MGCQ areas who go to their beaches, use their golf courses and visit the dolphin. facilities. Those staying more than three nights require a negative RT-PCR test result.
However, the website tab for “Palawan” in the Mimaropa region did not include island destinations that are actually open to tourists on point-to-point travel. These include the islands where El Nido Resorts Group operates, Pamalican Island, which is managed by Amanpulo, and Puerco Island, the site of Banwa Resort.
Alphaland’s Balesin Island Club on Polillo Island, Quezon, is open, according to guest posts on social media. (See “Pleasure trips allowed on the playgrounds of the rich” Business mirror, September 1, 2020.)
The site also does not list the requirements for those going to the city of Tagaytay in Cavite, which is technically supposed to accept visitors from the MGCQ areas with only health certificates or travel passes. Photos of the traffic jam heading to Tagaytay on September 13 were filled with social media, creating confusion as to who can go on leisure trips.
Lawmakers who heard DOT’s 2021 budget proposal last week requested that such a list of open travel destinations be released. The agency has been trying to get more tourist destinations reopened, but local government heads have been hesitant and requested Covid-19 test labs.
DOT chief thanks WTTC
Meanwhile, the Secretary of Tourism, Bernadette Romulo Puyat, was pleased by the recognition of the WTTC of the Philippines as a safe travel destination. “I want to thank WTTC for recognizing our efforts to implement policies on health, safety and sanitation protocols, which we have compared with global best practices and aligned with WTTC standards.”
He added: “The Safe Travels seal will further encourage our stakeholders to adhere to health and safety standards, and will also help us rebuild traveler confidence, so that we can restart tourism and preserve and maintain jobs.” .
DOT has a budget of P1.44 billion next year to promote the Philippines and develop a branding campaign, most of which will be spent trying to persuade locals to travel the country. (See, “DOT only has P1.4 billion to promote PHL as pandemic gut tourism,” in the Business mirror, September 18, 2020.)
“As the seal continues to gain popularity,” said Romulo Puyat, “travelers will be able to more easily recognize destinations around the world that have adopted the new set of global protocols, encouraging the return of ‘safe travel’ across the world. world”.
