DOT bucks DOH proposal to keep some pandemic restrictions

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Tourism (DOT) has opposed a proposal of the Department of Health (DOH) to keep some of the COVID-19 prohibitions, arguing that the country’s tourism industry is still being revived after it was brought to a halt during the peak of the pandemic.

Tourism Secretary Christina Garcia-Frasco and DOH officer-in-charge Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire met last Wednesday to tackle the provisions that will make up the Joint Administrative Order on Healthy Public and Open Spaces.

According to a DOT statement, Vergeire proposed to keep the prohibitions that bars tour guides from gathering clusters of tour groups as well as the one that disapproves the renting out of “personal equipment with oral exposure” or diving equipment.

“Public open spaces are tourist destinations. Conveying that there is some limitation on the capacity of these spaces contravenes the Marcos administration’s efforts to convey openness to tourists vis-a-vis ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) and global counterparts,” Frasco said.

The two prohibitions, she added, are “inimical to the current direction of the Marcos administration that empowers the DOT and the tourism industry to contribute to the country’s recovery and economic resurgence.”

Both agencies, the statement said, agreed to convey to the world the message that the country is “easing out of the pandemic state into the endemic state” without compromising the safety of tourists.

The country reopened its borders to foreign tourists in February last year, eventually lifting some restrictions such as mandatory quarantine and testing for fully vaccinated foreigners as well as making the wearing of face masks optional in several settings.

Meanwhile, the DOT will attend the Internationale Tourismus-Börse (ITB) in Berlin, Germany from March 7 to 9 as part of its efforts to make the Philippines a “tourism powerhouse” in Asia and the world.

“The ITB Berlin holds great opportunities for the Philippines to showcase to the world its award-winning destinations such as Boracay, Cebu, Siargao and Palawan and also to include Banaue, Intramuros and South Cotabato, among others. We also look forward to giving the world a view into our distinct and diverse culture, as well as the country’s best asset: the warmth and hospitality of the Filipino people,” Frasco said in a statement.

According to the DOT, Frasco would lead 43 delegates from 27 co-exhibitors from the public and private sectors during the event, which will also see a launching of the Bisita Be My Guest program wherein Filipinos are encouraged to invite foreigners to visit the country in exchange for perks like discounts in select tourism establishments and prizes like tour packages.

Considered as “the world’s biggest travel and trade event,” the ITB will feature 100,000 exhibitors and expect the arrival of 160,000 visitors from across the globe.