Ilocos Sur to accept Luzon, NCR tourists

MANILA, Philippines — More tourists from Luzon, including those from the National Capital Region (NCR) will be allowed to visit Ilocos Sur starting Nov. 15, the Department of Tourism (DOT) said over the weekend.

“The DOT welcomes the news that the province of Ilocos Sur will open to Luzon residents on Nov. 15 once all systems and health and safety measures are in place,” Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat said.

This developed after Gov. Ryan Singson announced during the launch of the Reef and Ridge traveler corridor the plan to open the province to tourists from Metro Manila.

Among the famous tourist destinations in the province are the Vigan Heritage Village and Calle Crisologo, Plaza Salcedo Dancing Fountain, Bantay Bell Tower, Santa Maria Church and Plaza Burgos.

Tourists will be required to show negative results of their RT-PCR or reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction test 72 hours before the travel.

Ilocos Sur first reopened to tourists through the Ridge and Reef travel corridor, along with Baguio City and Ilocos region including the provinces of La Union, Pangasinan and Ilocos Norte.

On Saturday, the city government of Baguio announced that it would accept tourists from NCR as well as Cagayan Valley and Central Luzon starting on Oct. 22.

Meanwhile, the town of Tuba in Benguet will start accepting tourists from its neighboring municipalities such as Itogon, La Trinidad, Sablan and Tublay as well as Baguio City.

Tuba Mayor Clarita Sal-ongan said visitors must present certificates of residency and medical clearance issued by their local government units. – Ghio Ong, Artemio Dumlao