DOT to subsidize swab test for 11,600 tourists

MANILA, Philippines — Around 11,600 domestic tourists will benefit from subsidized reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction testing, the Department of Tourism (DOT) announced yesterday.

The Tourism Promotions Board (TPB) inked a partnership with the Philippine Children’s Medical Center (PCMC) for the P8.7-million subsidy program for swab tests for local tourists.

Under the program, the TPB will subsidize 50 percent of the swab test offered by the PCMC at P1,500. This means tourists will shell out only P750 for a swab test.

The program aims to encourage local tourists to travel to areas in the country that have been declared open and safe by the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases and local government units.

Among these destinations are Manila, Baguio, Boracay, Cebu, Ilocos Norte and Palawan.

“The rolling out of the subsidized swab tests for qualified domestic tourists is just one of our recovery strategies as part of the Safe Bangon Turismo campaign to support the tourism industry, which has been affected by the pandemic,” Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat said.

Tourists must register at https://www.tpb.gov.ph/rtpcrphtravel/ five days before the scheduled departure date to avail themselves of the 50 percent discount.