AFTER the reopening of the country’s borders last week, the Department of Tourism (DOT) sees a better future for the Philippines in terms of increased influx of tourist arrivals.
As of 14 February 2022, there were 9,283 actual inbound tourist arrivals from visa-free countries. Of this number, 4,209 are balikbayans while 5,074 are foreign tourists, according to DOT data.
Tourism Secretary Berna Romulo-Puyat said the DOT is looking at a gradual pace in the influx of tourists, which hopefully will help in the local tourism sector’s recovery.
“International travel and tourism saw an unprecedented decline in visitor arrivals amid the pandemic; the reopening of Philippines’ borders to visitors from visa-free countries will surely help in improving our numbers,” Puyat said.
“We at the DOT are excited to see a revival in our local tourism and will continue to support our partners in achieving this goal,” she added.
Tourists from the US make up the largest chunk of foreign tourists during the four-day period with 2,227 arrivals. followed by 661 from Canada, 404 from Australia, 344 from the United Kingdom, 189 from South Korea, 169 from Japan, and 168 from Germany.
Puyat also highlighted the country’s readiness in welcoming foreign travelers, where over 90 percent of the target tourism workers nationwide are already fully-vaccinated.
“The DOT’s goal has since shifted to providing fully vaccinated workers with booster shots, which will not only give them extra protection against the virus, but will also add to the confidence of local and foreign tourists as they make their way to the country’s many breathtaking destinations,” the tourism chief emphasized.
As of 11 February 2021, a total of 323,206 individuals or 93.09 percent of the DOT’s nationwide target of 353,075 tourism workers in various tourism-related industries are already completely inoculated against COVID-19. Of this, 57,347 or 17.74 percent have already received their booster COVID-19 shots.
The DOT also reminded that fully vaccinated tourists are required to present proof of vaccination as approved by the Inter-Agency Task Force For the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) or the World Health Organization (WHO) as well a negative RT-PCR test result taken within 48 hours prior to departure from the country of origin.