The age limit for tourists who will visit luxury island destinations has been eased following the Inter-Agency Task Force for Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) approval of the Department of Tourism’s (DOT) request to relax age limitations.
In a letter sent by Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat to Tourism Congress of the Philippines President Jose Clemente III dated July 30, she said the IATF has approved another request from the DOT to allow the then restricted individuals to travel to some point-to-point tourist destinations originating from Manila. These include the country's top luxury island resorts Balesin, Amanpulo, as well as El Nido, Palawan.
This means that tourists 21 years old and below and 60 years old and above may now visit these destinations, provided that they tested negative for the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) through the reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) at least 48 to 72 hours prior to departure.
In a phone interview, DOT Undersecretary Arturo Boncato Jr. clarified that the aforementioned travel destinations have their own dedicated hangars and as such passengers would not pass by any public areas, making such travel packages safe for point-to-point travel.
Puyat also cited in the letter that the IATF has given the DOT the authority to approve point-to-point travel between areas under general community quarantine (GCQ) and modified general community quarantine (MGCQ) for leisure and tourism, as long as mandatory minimum public health standards and the joint guidelines from the Department of Interior and Local Government Unit (DILG), Department of Health (DOT), Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA), and DOT will observed, including the existing regulations from the concerned local government unit.
Prior to this, the IATF has also allowed children and senior citizens to visit the world-famous Boracay Island beginning July 23.
“These latest approvals form part of the DOT’s mission in safely restarting tourism business in the country through domestic travel,” Puyat said.