A ranking official of the Department of Tourism (DOT) expressed hopes that the increase in the reopened local destinations will soon create tourist traffic and boost the recovery of the country’s tourism sector.
Aside from the world-famous Boracay Island, Baguio City, Bohol, Ilocos Sur, Ilocos Norte, and Siargao Island recently announced their reopening, subject to the guidelines of the respective local government units (LGUs).
The Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) Resolution No. 84 also gave the LGUs the authority to lift age restrictions for tourists in areas under modified general community quarantine (MGCQ).
“We are hoping that over time, we will be able to increase the number of Filipinos moving around,” DOT Undersecretary Benito Bengzon Jr. said in a television interview aired over ABS-CBN News Channel (ANC).
Asked if there was pressure from local residents and influential businessmen to reopen sites amid the massive tourism losses, he said: “We have to achieve an optimum balance between restarting tourism activities and making sure that the health and well-being of the locals are considered.”
“Domestic tourism actually accounts for about 80 to 85 percent of our total tourism revenue and the strategy is the most effective way since our borders are still closed at the moment,” he added.
In a recent report released by the Department of Tourism (DOT), the Philippines received a total of 1,318,719 foreign visitors from January to October 2020, a decline of 80.61 percent from the 6,800,052 arrivals in the same period in 2019.
The said figures translate to a decrease of 79.68 percent or losses of about P317.88 billion. This was due to the continuing quarantine and travel barriers that have been continuously affecting the country's inbound tourist receipts.
Bengzon also said that the public must be vigilant even with the reopening of tourism so as not to hamper the efforts being done for the recovery of the sector.
“It has to be on the part of the host community and also of the traveler. We have always mentioned that it is also important for the travelers to maintain a certain level of discipline, to be patient, and to be cooperative in the implementation of these health and safety protocols because definitely, there will be adjustments on the part of the traveler as there are adjustments on the part of the host communities and the tourism establishments,” he said.
“I think what is fundamental here is that we continue to follow the basic protocols that we have been accustomed to over the last eight months.”
He stressed that Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat’s priority concern is the need to accelerate the recovery of tourism to be able to restore the livelihood of about 4.8 million industry workers who have either lost their jobs or temporarily shifted to other ways of gaining livelihood amid the crisis.
“We are confident in the next few months that our focus on domestic tourism will be able to generate enough income to tide us over as we go through this difficult time,” he said.