DOT: PH receives almost 100,000 inbound tourists since February

by Faith Argosino, Manila Bulletin

Almost 100,000 tourists have arrived since the Philippines reopened its borders to 157 countries visa-free countries, the Department of Tourism (DOT) said on Thursday, March 17.

Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat said they expect the number of inbound tourists to increase starting April 1 when the country further eases the restrictions to all foreign tourists based on the approval of the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-MEID).

“From Feb. 10 to March 15, we’ve already received 96,096 tourists. We’re pleasantly surprised […] this was only from visa-free countries,” Puyat said in an interview with TeleRadyo.

Puyat said freight tourist still need to present a negative result of the RT-PCR test taken 48 hours before their departure for fully-vaccinated tourists from visa-free countries.

She added that the exact requirement applies to tourists from visa countries, but the IATF included an alternative option for passengers to submit a negative laboratory-based antigen test result taken 24 hours before departure.

For local and foreign tourists planning to travel this summer season, Puyat reminded them to follow the minimum health and safety protocols.

“Palagi namin pinapaalala even you’re fully vaccinated, boosted or negative kayo sa RT-PCR please still follow minimum health and safety protocols lalo na yung pagsusuot ng mask (We always remind that even if you’re fully vaccinated, booted, or received a negative result of RT-PCR test, please still follow minimum health and safety protocols, especially wearing a mask),” she said.

DOT's Puyat expects more visitors as virus restrictions ease

by Waylon Galvez, Manila Bulletin

With the implementation of more relaxed health protocols to combat the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), Department of Tourism (DOT) Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat is optimistic that more travelers will be encouraged to visit different tourist destinations in the country in the coming months.

Boracay, arguably the crown jewel of Philippine tourism. (Laimonas Keseriauskis/ Unsplash)

According to Puyat, the Philippines is the first country in Asia to accept fully vaccinated foreign travelers and under the guidelines, the country is no longer implementing quarantine procedures.

“We are proud to say that our entry requirements are delivered in a simple format, without the need for facility-based quarantine primarily for fully vaccinated visitors. Tourists are allowed to travel to all reopened tourist destinations in the country as long as they comply with the requirements from the local government units with jurisdiction over these areas,” Puyat said Thursday, March 3.

Under the guidelines of the Inter Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID), the government has approved the entry of foreign nationals and returning Filipinos who wish to visit tourist destinations since Feb. 10.

The travelers, however, must be fully vaccinated from visa-free countries. Puyat said that tourist arrivals since then have been gradually picking up and the DOT looks forward to an uptick during the summer season starting this Holy Week break in April.

As of February 28, the number of international tourist arrivals has reached 47,715, of which 26,306 were foreign visitors and 21,409 were balikbayans or returning Filipinos from abroad.

Those travelers with full vaccines from visa-free countries listed under Executive Order 408 are no longer required to undergo quarantine as long as they are able to present a negative RT-PCR result.

In late February this year, the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) and the World Health Organization (WHO) called for the lifting of travel bans, stating that they do not provide added value and continue to contribute to economic and social stress.

The tourism department has been proactive in making proposals to the IATF that would balance the recovery of the sector and the restoration of jobs in the tourism sector without compromising the health and safety of the workers and visitors.

Along with the goal toward sustained recovery, Puyat has high hopes to yield stronger programs and partnerships with other tourism ministers and global leaders as the Philippines will host the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) global tourism summit in April.

“We only want what is best for the sector. This hosting of the WTTC Summit will benefit the country by showcasing what the Philippines can offer to the world,” said Puyat.

“More than the recognitions we received over the past years, our goal is to restore jobs and revenue streams for our tourism workers and stakeholders,” she added.

PH ready to welcome foreign tourists – Puyat

Department of Tourism (DOT) Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat speaks during the virtual recognition of Women Champions of Sustainability hosted by The Conrad Manila on August 16, 2021. (Screengrab from Conrad Manila’s YouTube video)

by Bernie Cahiles-Magkilat, Manila Bulletin

Government and the tourism private sectors declared the Philippines is ready to accept fully vaccinated foreign tourists from 157 visa-free countries starting Thursday, Feb. 10, even as hotel owners are asking for financial assistance to restart operations.

“We are as ready as we can be,” said Tourism Secretary BernadetteE Romulo-Puyat said at the Kapihan Sa Manila Bay virtual forum along with other key tourism stakeholders on Wednesday.

“These are exciting times for Philippine tourism. We have been ready since 2020; with the significant dwindling of new COVID cases, the Department of Tourism (DOT) can now push forward with our plans and programs for the full recovery of the Philippine Tourism industry. Those among you who follow developments in the travel and tourism sector know that tomorrow, February 10, we will begin the next chapter in the road to recovery,” said Romulo-Puyat

Benito “Bong” Bengzon, former DOT Undersecretary and executive director of the Philippine Hotel Owners Association, welcomed the country’s reopening, stressing this would provide them a lifeline after experiencing heavy financial losses almost two years into the pandemic.

However, Bengzon emphasized that the next 6 to 12 months would be difficult for the hotel owners as they restart and reopen operations. Thus, he raised the need for “financial assistance to tie us over the next 12 months.”

Bengzon said that many of their member hotels are reporting single-digit occupancy and are banking only on quarantine guests.

In the same forum, Jojo Clemente, president of Tourism Congress of the Philippines (TCP), said he does not expect foreign tourist arrivals immediately or in the next two months although he believes that tourists are coming back within the year.

“We have done our best to anticipate all kinds of situations as we reopen,” he said.

But just like Bengzon, Clemente emphasized that reopening operations after almost two years of almost dormant activity “takes a lot of effort to get it running.”

With that, he said, they are also coming up with various scenarios.

“But we are confident we are on the right path to see the light,” he said.

 

For his part, Walid Wafik SM Hotels and Convention Center (SMHCC) Senior Vice President and General Manager, also declared their readiness to accept foreign tourist arrivals and are looking forward to welcome domestic tourists and bookings at their convention centers.

Wafik, however, stressed the need to always observe and enforce health and safety protocols for the meeting, incentives, conferences & exhibition (MICE) sector. He urged “not to let our guards down, our safety protocols will be in place.”

He said that MICE organizers are beginning to block dates for their annual events, signaling the reopening of this sector.

Wafik said that SMHCC will not raise rates even if the past two years had been very painful for them as they incurred revenue loss and half of their staff gone.

He stressed that that raising prices is the last thing they would do in this time. What is important, he said, is to bring back confidence of the domestic market so the industry can bounce back to the pre-pandemic level.

The priority for SMHCC, he said, is “to go back to the 2019 volume wise, revenue will come later.”

But in terms of readiness, Wafik said that their nine hotels and 7 convention centers are ready to move forward.

“We have accepted losses and dealt with manpower and staffing to keep everybody onboard and engaged,” he added.

 

Meantime, Puyat-Romulo said that quarantine hotels operate at 67 percent capacity. She said that hotels and tourist accommodation facilities are expected to enjoy higher capacities of as much as 80 percent under Alert Level 2.

According to the DOT- National Capital Region (DOT-NCR), there is a 68 percent or 37,348 occupied rooms in Quarantine facilities consisting of 418 hotels operating with 55,150 rooms, as of February 7. These hotels cater to the unvaccinated travelers completing their quarantine period, long staying guests, OFWs ready for departure, and BPO employees.

As much as 76 quarantine hotels have submitted a Letter of Intent to shift to regular hotels and cater to leisure tourists.

“I am excited about the prospects of a healthy rebound in tourism for a good number of reasons: the high vaccination rate among our tourism workers, the public health safeguards and guidelines that have been put in place and the number of new tourism circuits that have been developed,” she said.

As of February 4, the DOT said that 92. 51 percent or 317, 892 out of 349, 534 tourism workers have received their COVID-19 jabs.

Tourism destinations with 100 percent vaccination rate among its tourism workers include: Baguio City; Aurora; Palawan towns Coron, El Nido and San Vicente ; Puerto Princesa City, and Camiguin island. The DOT offices are also facilitating the roll-out of booster shots for eligible tourism workers.

On a regional basis, the NCR registered the highest coverage for tourism workers with 99.91 percent.

Generally optimistic, despite continuing challenges

A GLIMPSE OF PARADISE El Nido, Palawan (File photo)

by Manila Bulletin

Tourism chief sees ‘revenge travel’ manifesting across all markets of the Philippine tourism industry.

 

The annual tourism revenue in 2020 was no doubt higher than the receipts generated the following year since tourists were still able to enter the country from January to mid-March before the lockdown was first imposed in 2020.

But if you compare the figures from April to September of both years covering the pandemic period, the tourism industry this 2021 saw a renewed hope toward a steady recovery path.

Data from the Department of Tourism (DOT) showed that tourism receipts from April to September 2021 reached ₱3.1 billion, up by 91.6 percent from ₱1.6 billion generated in the same period in 2020.

“The current tourism scenario is looking generally optimistic,” said Tourism Secretary Berna Romulo-Puyat. Since the gradual resumption of tourism operations last September, more establishments had reopened and the country saw an uptick in the number of domestic travelers in major tourist destinations.

In Boracay alone, tourism arrivals ballooned by 1,151.61 percent to 173,104 from the 13,830 tourists recorded on the island during the same period in 2021.

The DOT also continued to promote the Philippines as a country that would bank not only on the safety of travelers but also its host communities as it actively and aggressively vaccinated tourism workers nationwide.

As of Dec. 24, 2021, at least 88.38 percent or 282,780 tourism workers had been inoculated against COVID-19, while the remaining 11.62 percent were waiting for their schedule.

‘In the wake of disconnect and economic hardship brought about by the pandemic, Filipinos are likely to travel ‘more consciously.’

For 2022, Berna sees “revenge travel” manifesting across all markets of the Philippine tourism industry. In the wake of disconnect and economic hardship brought about by the pandemic, Filipinos are likely to travel “more consciously.”

A recent research commissioned by AirBnB showed that over 80 percent of Filipinos it polled seek to travel in a way that positively impacts locals while about 76 percent want to be more conscious when it comes to familiarizing themselves with the host community and how they can make a contribution.

The DOT has vowed to pivot toward sustainable tourism development models, with focus on providing guests with high-quality experiences rather than mass tourism and short-term gains.

With no certain date yet as to when the country will open its borders to foreign leisure travelers, the DOT believes domestic tourists will continue to be the main tourism growth driver in 2022.

The agency will also tap into the growing workation market, seeing that remote work is likely to stay throughout and even after the pandemic.

“The trend was something that came along as a need by employees who worked from home during the pandemic, yet also needed the time to take a break and recover from cabin fever. We are confident that with the increasing prominence of remote work, this trend will linger on even after the pandemic,” Berna said.

Should the Philippines reopen, according to the tourism secretary, foreign tourists can rest assured that health and safety protocols are in place.

“The DOT yields to the wisdom of our health experts and we fully understand the need to protect the health and wellbeing of the rest of the country, especially now that we have started to see the light at the end of the tunnel,” she said.

The Philippines was supposed to have ended its almost 21-month closure to foreign tourists on Dec. 1, 2021, but the plan was suspended amid the growing threat of the heavily mutated Omicron coronavirus variant.

This year, the tourism chief is also hoping to successfully host the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) Global Summit, a MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, and Exhibitions) event seen to boost the Philippine travel sector’s recovery.

“The WTTC Global Summit is widely considered as the most influential event for travel and tourism professionals and stakeholders, and we are making sure that the health and safety of our guests, as well as our staff, are on top of our priority list,” she said.

Meanwhile, the DOT is working on the “rehabilitation and recovery” of several tourist destinations, including Bohol, Camiguin, Cebu, Negros Oriental and Occidental, Palawan, Siargao, and Southern Leyte, affected by last year’s Typhoon Odette.

Berna said the focus was on addressing immediate concerns of affected tourism workers, such as cash-for-work or alternative livelihood programs and the reconstruction of affected facilities of various enterprises.

The agency, through the Tourism Promotions Board, is also facilitating the delivery of relief goods and basic necessities to Cebu, Siargao, Tacloban, Palawan, and Negros Oriental.

Cash donations from tourism stakeholders were also given to affected establishments and DOT Regional Offices. In addition, the DOT is in close coordination with the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) for financial assistance.

In Siargao, Berna said the DOT together with the Makati Med Foundation would continue with the vaccination program for tourism workers and, at the same time see, to the immediate medical needs of the community.

“We stand behind with our kababayans and our tourism stakeholders from Visayas and Mindanao in these difficult times,” said Berna. (PNA)

Don't be corrupt!

By Catherine Talavera, Philippine Star

MANILA, Philippines — After accepting her surprise appointment as tourism secretary on Tuesday, Bernadette Romulo-Puyat said her first instruction from President Duterte was: “Just don’t be corrupt.”

“My only instruction from the President when he offered it and then I accepted – he said, ‘congratulations! All I want is no corruption. Don’t steal,’ he told me. And I said, ‘yes, of course,’ ” Puyat said yesterday in an interview.

With her at the helm of the Department of Tourism (DOT), Puyat said she would likely prioritize farm and culinary tourism.

“We’ve been working with (the DOT) with regard to farm tourism. That’s been their main project with the DA (Department of Agriculture). So might as well continue it,” she said. “I will continue the farm tourism and culinary tourism because when you go to a country, food is one of the things tourists go to.”

She was agriculture undersecretary for 12 years before Duterte casually appointed her late Tuesday at Malacañang during a meeting of the National Food Authority Council.

“He basically appointed me because he said I have been in the DA for so long, for 12 years already and there was no trace of corruption,” Puyat said.

She replaced Wanda Teo who resigned as DOT secretary Monday night at the height of controversy over the questionable advertising deal between the tourism department and the state-run People’s Television Network Inc. The agreement involved the placement of P60 million in ads for a television program of Teo’s brother Ben Tulfo.

“Medyo nagulat ako kasi pinag-uusapan namin agriculture tapos biglang naging tourism (I was a bit surprised because we were talking about agriculture then suddenly it was tourism),” she said.

Puyat admitted she has no plans for the DOT yet, but stressed she would continue to work on projects begun by Teo, including those promoting farm industry and local cuisine.

She said she wants to check first the plans of the DOT especially concerning rehabilitation efforts for Boracay and the country’s possible hosting of the Miss Universe 2018.

The new tourism chief also vowed to observe transparency in all transactions. She promised to shun nepotism like what her father – former senator and foreign affairs chief Alberto Romulo – did when he was in government.

She revealed that as DA official, she had worked with the DOT for the Madrid Fusion Manila, a major culinary event with Spain.

“We’re on our fourth year. We’ve worked with the DOT for three years already with regard to Madrid Fusion,” Puyat said.

“So it’s all about culinary tourism. We might as well continue that as far as my background is concerned,” she added.

She emphasized she’s always ready to explore more ways of improving the country’s tourism sector.

“Of course we should continue what programs are already working,” she said.

On the six-month closure of Boracay to give way to rehabilitation work, she said she’s leaving it to the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) to deal with the issue.

“We will see. We will leave it up to their judgment,” she said in a separate television interview.

In welcoming its new chief, the DOT said her expertise and experience would certainly bring more vigor to the department and help it attain its target under the National Tourism Development Plan for 2016-2022. The DOT hopes to boost tourist arrivals to 7.4 million this year.

“An advocate of farm and culinary tourism as evidenced in the DA’s strong partnership with the DOT’s Madrid Fusion Manila and farm tourism initiatives, the incoming secretary’s expertise and experience present an advantage in steering the industry and promoting the Philippines as a premier tourist destination,” the DOT said.

DA’s loss

While sighs of relief greeted her entry into the DOT, her departure from the DA was met with uneasiness.

“She is a big loss to the DA, especially in our marketing advocacies. But I am happy for her,” Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel Piñol told The STAR.

While Puyat’s appointment as DOT chief caught him by surprise, Piñol said he respects the decision of the President as he knows Puyat is fit and qualified for the position.

“I was shocked because this was not discussed in the last Cabinet meeting. But I already had an inkling that she may be chosen,” he said.

“Knowing her work habits and her honesty as a public official, I know she will excel as tourism secretary,” Piñol added.

“Looking at the brighter side, she and I could now work closely and coordinate our efforts and funding in promoting farm tourism and agri-tourism,” Piñol said.

Puyat’s credentials and reputation have also impressed senators who expect her to face smooth sailing before the Commission on Appointments (CA).

Senate President Pro Tempore Ralph Recto said Puyat “has done well in all her government postings,” referring to her previous post as agriculture undersecretary.

“She has a clean record. She has good academic credentials and is very qualified to be the secretary of tourism. I look forward to working with her in developing our tourism industry. Good tourism policies will increase jobs and income for our people and will further sustain our growing economy,” Recto said.

Senate Majority Leader Vicente Sotto III described her as “excellent,” adding that her father was also an exemplary public servant.

Sen. Nancy Binay, chair of the tourism committee, said she was looking forward to working with Puyat, whom she expects to promote “the tourism agenda and bring her expertise in farm tourism and ecotourism being sustainable approaches to rural development.”

Sen. Grace Poe said Puyat has the academic and professional credentials to lead the DOT and is known for promoting attractions and local culture of provinces she had been to as DA official.

“She is very personable and articulate and is suited to the job of selling the Philippine brand,” Sen. Sonny Angara said.

Sen. Juan Miguel Zubiri, a member of the CA, said he expects the bicameral body to quickly confirm her appointment.

“I can truly vouch for her character and integrity as a person and her almost decade long career in public service at the DA was one of outstanding performance and with no taint of corruption or controversy whatsoever,” Zubiri said.

For Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez, Puyat is undoubtedly qualified for her new job. “She’s qualified for the position. Good choice,” Alvarez said.

“We support the decision of the President to further promote the tourism industry in the Philippines,” Deputy Speaker Raneo Abu said.

“She’s the right person for the right job. She possesses the qualities of a good marketing person,” Surigao del Norte Rep. Robert Ace Barbers, chairman of the House committee on dangerous drugs, said.

Puyat “has a long and positive track record in government. We believe she is a worthy choice to replace outgoing secretary Wanda Teo,” Parañaque Rep. Gus Tambunting, chairman of the House committee on games and amusement, said.

“I think she is highly capable of handling the job,” said Eastern Samar Rep. Ben Evardone, chairman of the House committee on banks and financial intermediaries.

“The right person for the right job,” Isabela Rep. Rodito Albano, a member of the 12-man House CA contingent, said.

Meanwhile, Piñol said DA undersecretary for policy and planning Segfredo Serrano will take over rice importation matters from Puyat.

Piñol, who is currently in Batanes, says the DA will have a meeting tomorrow to discuss new roles at the department.

The appointment of Puyat has also spawned reports that Jose Gabriel La Viña will replace her as DA undersecretary.

Just two weeks ago, La Viña was appointed as tourism undersecretary. He was Social Security System commissioner for more than a year before his dismissal in February due to alleged abuse of public funds.

“I am still waiting for the official communication on the matter, if it is indeed true,” La Viña said in a text message to The STAR.

“I am and will continue to be a strong supporter of the President. For the record, I believe Usec. Berna is an excellent choice for DOT. She is beautiful, diligent and bright,” he added, referring to the new tourism chief by her nickname. – With Robertzon Ramirez, Louise Maureen Simeon, Paolo Romero, Delon Porcalla,  Christina Mendez