Baguio City, the ‘summer capital’ of the Philippines will open to tourists coming from Luzon, including Metro Manila, on October 23, 2020.
This is what Mayor Benjamin Magalong himself announced this Saturday.
“We can consider receiving tourists from other regions in Luzon starting October 23, but limited to 200 per day – to increase gradually,” Magalong said.
The city of Pines, first opened its borders to tourists from the Ilocos region on October 1st, since the day the lockdown started on March 16.
“This is a bold move,” Magalong said, because Baguio City and other local governments can no longer afford to be “averse risk,” now the pandemic is affecting the economy”.
All tourists entering the city will undergo a thorough screening.
Guests must sign up using an online travel system in Baguio for leisure and book rooms at designated hotels for closer monitoring.
Tourists will also shoulder the cost and all other COVID-19 tests.
“Since October 1, only 4 tourists out of 60 who have registered from Region 1 have come to Baguio,” Magalong said, following a meeting with Secretary Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat and the Inter Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID).
“We need to mitigate some restrictions. Guided tours will be optional,” Magalong said, so applicants do not have to upload confirmed hotel bookings as part of the requirements. entry.
“But the accommodation facilities recognized by the Department of Tourism will be allowed to receive tourists,” he added.
The city’s tourism industry has lost an estimated P1.6 billion in road revenue due to several months of quarantine restriction.
IN PHOTO: File photo of the famous Lion’s Head, one of the many tourists attraction located in Kennon Road, Baguio City.