Department of Tourism (DOT) Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat expressed optimism on the possibility of increased jobs in the tourism sector as the country opens its tourist spots to foreign travelers.

Puyat said that in the two years, or since the start of the lockdown in the country back in March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, about 1.1 million Filipinos lost their jobs as the government closed the borders.

A few weeks ago, however, the Inter-Agency Task Force on the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-MEID) approved the DOT’s proposal to allow the entry of fully vaccinated tourists from 157 countries with visa-free arrangements with the government.

The color-coded classification system of countries based on their COVID-19 status has also been dropped by the IATF.

“Kami sa Department of Tourism (DOT), yun ang gusto namin, na sana tuluy-tuloy na ito (We at the Department of Tourism, what we hope is for this to continue),” said Puyat during the Laging Handa Public Briefing over PTV-4 on Thursday, Feb. 10.

“Sana nga tuluy-tuloy na ito para tuluy-tuloy magka-trabaho ang ating mga kababayaan. Masayang masaya ang ating mga stake holders na magkaka-trabaho na sila We hope that this continues, that we carry on so that we get more jobs for our countrymen. Our stakeholders are very happy with this because they will get back their jobs),” she added.

Prior to the pandemic and eventual lockdown, the Philippines had recorded 8.26 million tourist visitors back in 2019, but the number plummeted 1.48 million a year later.

Puyat hopes that the reopening of tourism will pick-up as it has a huge impact on the economic recovery of the country. She said that countries like South Korea and the US are likely to be the majority visitors in the country with the reopening of tourist destinations.

“Galing sa Korea, sila yun No. 1 tourist natin (before the pandemic). Tiitignan din natin yung other neighboring Asian countries, tinitignan din natin yung kababayan natin from the US (Our No. 1 tourist is Korea (before the pandemic). But we’re also looking at other neighboring Asian countries, and we’re looking at our fellow countrymen from the US," said Puyat, adding that Boracay remains as the top tourist destination among foreign travelers, with Palawan and Batangas as other options

With the reopening of tourist destinations, Puyat said that workers have already received their vaccine shots and boosters to make sure that they are protected and that the visitors are protected as well.

Puyat said that while the country is accepting tourists now, she reiterated the importance of still following the minimum safety protocols like wearing of face masks and observing social distancing.