MANILA, Philippines — The Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF) has allowed point-to-point travel for residents from the National Capital Region Plus bubble as part of initial rules to spur tourism activities in the countryside, according to the Department of Tourism (DOT).
The government classified point-to-point travel, a form of travel between two areas with no stopovers or changes in routes, in two kinds – direct point-to-point and point-to-point with short transfers, the DOT said.
Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat explained that direct point-to-point travel would require travelers from the NCR Plus bubble, which includes Metro Manila, Bulacan, Cavite, Laguna and Rizal, to book roundtrip chartered flights from an airport in the bubble to a hotel or accommodation establishment.
On the other hand, those availing themselves of a point-to-point travel with short transfers, which would still require a booking for a chartered flight, would have to comply with the following: the service that would do private transfer by land or water should be owned by the traveler himself or the traveler could get the transfer service from the accommodation establishment where he would stay.
The DOT said a tourist choosing point-to-point travel with short transfers “would be obliged that the transfer shall not involve the guests going through a public transport hub or co-mingling with travelers who are not guests of the accommodation establishment” where he is booked.