Over 176,000 foreign tourist arrivals in PH since February

MANILA. Tourists from Germany carry their bags as they arrive at Manila's International Airport, Philippines on Thursday, February 10, 2022. (AP)

By: THIRD ANNE PERALTA-MALONZO, SunSTAR

OVER 176,000 tourists from abroad arrived in the Philippines after it opened its borders to foreign travelers amid the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) pandemic, Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat said on Monday, April 4, 2022.

Puyat said from February 10 to April 2, there were a total of 176,857 tourist arrivals from both non-visa and visa-required countries.

She said majority of the tourists were from the United States, Canada, United Kingdom and South Korea.

On February 10, the National Government allowed the entry of tourists from non-visa countries in the country, while the acceptance of travelers from visa-required countries started on April 1.

This aims to boost the recovery of the country’s tourism sector, which has been in drought due to strict border controls brought about by the Covid-19 crisis.

Foreign travelers should be fully vaccinated except for children while they are also required to present a negative Covid-19 RT-PCR test result taken 48 hours prior to their trip, or a negative laboratory-based antigen result taken 24 hours before departure.

Puyat said they are elated by the continuous arrival of foreign tourists, as well as domestic travelers going on a trip amid the easing of quarantine restrictions in the country.

She said almost all of the resorts and hotels in tourist destinations nationwide were already fully booked for the upcoming Holy Week vacation.

Puyat reminded the public, however, to strictly adhere to minimum health protocols while having fun during their vacation to prevent the spread of coronavirus.

She urged individuals to get fully vaccinated and get their booster doses before going on a vacation to ensure their protection against severe and critical illness brought about by the virus.

The Department of Health recorded on Sunday, April 3, 690 additional Covid-19 cases, bringing the total tally to 3,679,629.

So far, over 65 million individuals have been fully vaccinated in the country, while more than 64 million have received the first dose a