The capital city of Puerto Princesa in Palawan--known for its Underground River, a UNESCO World Heritage site--has reopened its borders to welcome more domestic tourists but with strict health protocols still in place.
Puerto Princesa City Mayor Lucilo R. Bayron and local officials signed City Resolution 29 to "reopen" the known tourist city to domestic travelers beginning March 1.
Under the resolution, tourists are still required to take the reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) test within 48 hours before travel.
The negative test result should be emailed directly by the Department of Health (DOH)-accredited testing facility to the city’s Incident Management Team to avoid falsification or fabrication.
Inbound travelers are also required to present a confirmed booking from a Department of Tourism (DOT)-accredited accommodation establishment and travel agency for guided tours.
The use of StaySafe.ph system as a contact tracing application while in the city is likewise mandatory, the resolution added.
Meanwhile, Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat has vowed to support the decision of city executives to reopen Puerto Princesa, noting its "vast potential" in the tourism sector.
"We are keen to discover and develop other tourism products to encourage visitors to stay longer or to entice repeat visits. We have great confidence in the city’s future as there is vast potential to further develop its nature-based, farm, and sun and beach tourism products," Puyat said during her visit to the city.
According to local officials, the capital city accounts for 50 percent of the tourist arrivals in Palawan and the Mimaropa region, making it the biggest contributor to its economic growth.
In 2020, Palawan logged a partial number of 157,051 tourist arrivals, 71,889 of which were visits to Puerto Princesa.
Puyat assured that the DOT will also continue employing the seal on health and safety protocols in the whole tourism value chain in Puerto Princesa including accommodation establishments, restaurants, and tourist sites, among others.
As of Feb. 15, the DOT Region 4B has accredited 73 tourism establishments and service providers in the city, the majority of which are tour guides.
The tourism chief added that tourism frontliners will be included in the vaccination priority.