It’s time to put Palawan on the map again
Our local hotspots should expect a surge of visitors in the upcoming months as survey conducted by the Department of Tourism (DOT) forecasts domestic travel as main economic driver toward recovery. According to results of “Philippine Travel Survey: Insights on Filipino Travel Behavior Post-Covid-19,” Filipinos prefer to travel to destinations closer to home, with 69 percent of respondents looking to hit the beach.
After initial announcements of gradually reopening Boracay and Bohol upon lifting of travel restrictions, the DOT and local government of Palawan are propping up Coron, San Vicente, and El Nido for a possible “dry run” of their famous leisure activities among island dwellers and select domestic tourists this July.
Accounting to P3.1-billion losses and unemployment of 14,000 tourism workers, Palawan is determined to get back on its feet. This coincides with international news of the island reclaiming the first spot on Travel + Leisure magazine’s “Top 25 Islands in the World.”
Tourism Sec. Berna Romulo Puyat flew to Palawan last week to hold a press briefing with local officials and discuss the health protocols and the safety of its shores should the government give a go-signal for its reopening.
Palawan Gov. John Alvarez said the sector has been ready to welcome tourists since the island shifted to modified general community quarantine, but they plan to take the operation “slowly but surely” to prevent a new wave of cases in their area from “overtourism.”
One way to test this is by doing a leisure travel simulation from the perspective of domestic tourists and Palawan citizens at El Nido resorts, which is now proven safe for air travel as it is done on a point-to-point basis. The preparation aims to determine the carrying capacity of the island, the effectivity of safety protocols, and confidence of tourists without the need for mass gatherings.
To go about the dry run, those who wish to participate must present a negative result from a nearby real-time reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) testing for Covid-19, which delivers result in about three hours, at their own expense. Tourism workers, however, will undergo swab test conducted and shouldered by the Inter-Agency Task Force. According to Sec. Berna, tourists should only get the latest result from a DOH-accredited hospital or detection facility within point of entry, and should not worry about another test as soon as they land in Palawan. If deemed successful, Palawan will be the first to accept all local travelers among tourist spots in the Philippines as the government kicks off domestic leisure travel.
Safe havens to visit in Palawan when leisure travel reopens:
El Nido
Towering limestone cliffs, unspoiled lagoons, and sustainable preservation shelter El Nido. The pristine island offers secluded beachfronts with cottages perched on stilts, and a lot of nature-friendly activities that do not require mass gatherings like snorkeling, kayaking, and diving. El Nido is also a boat ride away from Bacuit Bay, an archipelago dotted with jagged karst cliffs, coves, and islets standing still over crystal clear waters.
Coron
The paradise marks its address beneath the surface where one of the world’s most biodiverse coral reefs, preternatural Japanese shipwrecks from World War II, and rare sea creatures like giant clams, dugongs, and barracuda can be found. Believe us, however, when we say it can go deeper than that. Coron offers scuba diving activities from a minimum depth of four meters at Barracuda Lake to a maximum depth of 42 meters at Coral Garden. Those who prefer sightseeing can go island-hopping from the idyllic Banol Beach to the powdery sandbar of Bulog Dos.
San Vicente
The longest white-sand beach in the Philippines, as the name suggests, can be found in San Vicente, an island nestled between El Nido and Puerto Princesa. The Long Beach is three times the size of Boracay’s White Beach, but 10 times less polluted with establishments and people. In search of tranquility one can explore Port Barton, a sleepy fishing village-cum-seaside lounge, perfect for those who miss the beach but need to socially distance themselves from tourists.