The Department of Tourism said Thursday is extending the policy that waives the accreditation fee for tourism establishments, as initially implemented under Memorandum Circular 2022-001.
Tourism Secretary Christina Garcia Frasco said the extension would assist tourism enterprises in their recovery from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.
DOT MC 2022-001 or The Revised Interim Guidelines Governing Applications for Accreditation During The State of Calamity Due to COVID-19 is anchored on Presidential Proclamation No. 57 s. 2022 which further extended the period of state of calamity in the Philippines until Dec. 31, 2022.
“While the proclamation on the period of state calamity in the country has ended, we at the DOT discern the need to continue, for as long as essential, measures that will support our stakeholders in their process of recouping the devastating losses incurred in the almost three years that the tourism industry was brought to a standstill due to the pandemic,” Frasco said.
She said that in addition to the waived accreditation fees, DOT MC 2022-001 contains salient points that were aptly aligned by the department with the issuances of the national government’s Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases.
Among these are the streamlining of documentary requirements for accreditation as well as the conduct of virtual inspections in lieu of physical inspections.
Frasco said pertinent updates were made to some of the provisions in the MC that the department released on March 24, 2022.
The DOT also targets the resumption of new applications for star rating and premium accreditation—which were suspended under Section 6 of the MC—by next month.