Neither ‘magic wand’ nor ‘silver bullet’

On Aug. 31, Antonio Guterres, the secretary-general of the United Nations (UN), has raised alarm over the devastation caused to global tourism by the prevailing 2019 coronavirus disease, or the COVID-19 pandemic. Citing tourism as one of the world’s most important economic sectors, Guterres bewailed the impact of COVID-19 pandemic that forced countries to closed their borders in lockdown.

Quoting global figures reported to the UN, Guterres noted with deep concern that international tourist arrivals decreased by more than half and some $320 billion dollars in exports from tourism were lost for the past five months due to the COVID-19 lockdowns across the world.

Overall, the UN official estimates some 120 million direct jobs in tourism are at risk. He expressed worry that many of these jobs are in the “informal economy,” or from the so-called micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) which employ a high proportion of women and young people.

Aside from economic costs of the ensuing lockdowns due to the COVID-19, Guterres warned governments on the dire consequences on their major tourism sites. “The fall in revenues has led to increased poaching and habitat destruction in and around protected areas, and the closure of many World Heritage Sites has deprived communities of vital livelihoods,” Guterres lamented.

“That is why it has been so painful to see how tourism has been devastated by the COVID-19 pandemic,” the UN secretary-general rued.

However, like all other world leaders, Guterres conceded on the necessity of imposing lockdowns or quarantine measures to curb the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. As of Sept.1, the World Health Organization (WHO) reported the cumulative global total of 848,258 persons who died due to COVID-19 while there were 25,327,098 confirmed cases.

“The crisis is a major shock for developed economies, but for developing countries, it is an emergency, particularly for many small island developing states and African countries,” Guterres stressed. “It is imperative that we rebuild the tourism sector,” Guterres urged the world body.

Drastically affected by the COVID lockdowns in many nations around the world is the aviation industry with the mobility of people and goods restricted to barest minimum. Commercial airlines are largely reduced to humanitarian flight missions, mostly to pick up their stranded nationals and tourists caught by the lockdowns.

Apparently taking off from the calls echoed by Guterres, the International Air Transport Association (IATA), the global trade association for the world’s airlines, issued their own S.O.S. on the plight of aviation industry that saw 79.8% plunge in passenger demand resulting from the lockdowns.The IATA has appealed to governments to open borders as travel restrictions and quarantines have precariously cut down the travel market to trickles.

The IATA represents some 290 airlines in 120 countries comprising 82% of total air traffic. Based in Montreal, Canada, the IATA represents, leads and serves the airline industry in general before other world bodies.

The IATA pressed governments should work together to immediately find ways to re-establish global connectivity by gradually re-opening borders. “No government wants to import COVID-19. Equally, no government should want to see the economic hardships and associated health impacts of mass unemployment. Successfully getting through this crisis requires careful risk-management with effective measures,” according to the IATA chief.

Local carriers in the Philippines are also seeking not only government support but also unified and consistent policies amid their struggle to recover, if not mitigate from the COVID impact into their financial viability. Most of them have implemented deep cuts of their fleets and cabin crew from pilots to attendants to thousands of their personnel on the ground. The ACAP member airlines include our country’s flagship carrier the Philippine Airlines (PAL), the Cebu Pacific, and AirAsia Philippines.

Thus, the IATA and ACAP are pushing “travel bubbles” to mitigate risks of “imported” COVID transmission in the travel to and fro the countries involved. And this exactly what our own Department of Tourism (DOT) headed by Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat has actively been pursuing together with local government units (LGUs) for the gradual reopening of the Philippines back to business starting from our popular domestic tourist destinations.

Yesterday, the DOT Secretary along with LGU officials launched BLUPISIN – or acronym for intra-tourism in Baguio City and the provinces of La Union, Pangasinan, Ilocos Sur, and Ilocos Norte. Romulo-Puyat threw her full support behind to the country’s first “travel bubble” in BLUPISIN that seeks to enable seamless travel for tourism under the DOT’s Ridge to Reef Corridor Plan.

According to the DOT chief, this is one of the key strategies being explored to ensure Baguio City’s gradual and safe reopening to tourists from nearby provinces within the year. Romulo-Puyat expressed her optimism this local “travel bubble” is worth emulating in other parts of our country in the DOT’s process of reopening domestic tourism.

As much as P10 billion bailout funds to assist the tourism industry is included in the Congress-approved P140 billion Bayanihan We Recover As One, or Bayanihan-2. The P10 billion was distributed to various government agencies. Of this total, P3 billion was allocated to the Department of Labor and Employment as financial assistance to thousands of displaced tourism workers; P6 billion was allocated to Small Business Corp. under the Department of Trade and Industry as financial aid for tourism MSMEs; and the balance of P1 billion was allocated to the Department of Public Works and Highways for the construction of tourism roads.

As of this writing, President Rodrigo Duterte has yet to sign into law the Bayanihan-2. However, it won’t be the “silver bullet,” neither it would be the “magic wand” to borrow the words of President Duterte, to save our tourism.