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Thursday, March 28, 2024

Tourism rebound plan: International travel bubbles, domestic ‘revenge’ travels

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The Philippines is eyeing a two-pronged approach to revive the tourism industry after it was brought to a standstill by the COVID-19 pandemic and the lockdown measures that were implemented to arrest the spread of the mutating coronavirus.

The government is looking to establish partnerships to create “international travel bubbles” or “travel corridors” with neighboring countries while on the domestic front, it has rolled out a recalibrated portfolio of products such as nature-based tourism, dive tourism, farm tourism, and health and wellness tourism, among others.

“We are turning this setback caused by the pandemic as an opportunity to bounce back better as a stronger, more resilient, and more sustainable industry,” Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat told Manila Standard in an interview.

Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat

Asean: Single tourism destination

As air travel remains highly restricted and with COVID-19 vaccines rolling out at an uneven pace, Puyat said the Association of Southeast Asian Nations forged a Travel Corridor Arrangement Framework in November that would allow reciprocal travel with testing but without quarantine for select groups from areas with controlled community transmission.

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During last week’s recently-concluded Asean Tourism Ministers’ Meeting, the bloc likewise affirmed measures to promote the region as a single tourism destination to bolster recovery.

Asean member-states suffered a decrease of approximately 75.8 percent in tourism receipts, while international arrivals went down by approximately 80.5 percent.

“We can only successfully recover from the pandemic if we do so in unity, guided by data and information that lead to effective planning,” Puyat told her counterparts in Asean during the meeting.

Among the new Asean priority programs are the digitization of the tourism industry, the strengthening of data and information networks, and the conduct of activities to promote connectivity and facilitate travel to and within the region.

Pivot toward domestic travel

“The travel bubble or travel corridor approach is the initial strategy in reopening destinations and borders both domestically and internationally. We are starting tourism bubbles domestically. The Department of Tourism is working closely with various line agencies responsible for making this arrangement possible,” Puyat said.

“Our goal remains the same – to pivot towards domestic tourism which has always been the backbone of the tourism industry. With the country’s 7,641 islands and a resilient tourism industry, the country is well-poised to pivot and conform to these new market preferences,” she added.

The DOT has created a number of tourism corridors in the Cordillera Administrative Region, Region 1, Region 4A, and Region 4B for domestic tourists in the Philippines. Baguio, for example, is open to domestic tourists provided they undergo the usual entry protocols, online registration and triage evaluation upon arrival.

The Ridge & Reef Travel Corridor was established in September as an effort to slowly, surely, and responsibly restart the tourism economy. The corridor initially consists of travel between the Ilocos Region and Baguio City, with entry limited to its residents. For the initiative’s second phase, which is to open Region 1 provinces to residents of neighboring regions, Ilocos Sur and Ilocos Norte have widened their market to allow Luzon residents entry in November following strict border entry requirements and proper health and safety protocols.

“The DOT Regional office is currently working alongside the local government units of La Union and Pangasinan to validate their readiness for tourism as they prepare to open their borders to Luzon residents within the 1st quarter of 2021,” Puyat said.

Calabarzon, on the other hand, is currently developing its flagship domestic tourism program called the G.R.E.E.N. Corridor Initiative.

Soul of the industry

Puyat also underscored the importance of helping stakeholders in their effort to bounce back from the travel slump, including affording them access to working capital.

Under the Bayahinan to Recover as One Act, DOT was given P10.1 billion to help the tourism industry in its recovery. Of the total amount, P6 billion was for working capital loans while P3 billion was allocated to help displaced tourism workers under a financial assistance program of the DOT and the Department of Labor and Employment.

Puyat said P1 billion will be spent for tourism road infrastructure while the remaining P100 million will be used to help community and regional tour guides.

“We also remain committed to our goal of keeping our stakeholders safe as they rediscover the fun in traveling in our own country. As such, we continue to make innovations that are targeted towards maintaining market presence, COVID-proofing the industry, and creating a brand new consciousness/awareness among stakeholders. We are hoping all these efforts will slowly uplift consumer confidence in the market in the coming months,” Puyat said.

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