Hotel players keep hopes up amid looming Omicron threat

CEBU, Philippines —  Members of the Hotel Resort and Restaurant Association of Cebu (HRRAC) are crossing their fingers to overcome yet another looming threat from the Omicron variant.

In an interview with HRRAC president Alfred Reyes, he said that with good vaccine rollout, in place protocols and other learnings from 2020, the Philippines could manage the Omicron variant spread.

Reyes expressed confidence that the threat will not cripple businesses as a result of probable lockdown, provided that people continue to observe proper health protocol.

Businesses however, hotels and restaurants in particular, have already installed necessary measures and stricter rules.

Last Sunday, November 28, 2021, the Philippines imposed travel restrictions on seven European countries in an effort keep out potentially more contagious new coronavirus variant Omicron.

The government has tagged Austria, the Czech Republic, Hungary, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Belgium, and Italy, under the "red list" effective from Sunday until Dec. 15, 2021.

Fourteen countries and regions with reported Omicron cases so far. This resulted to suspension of flights from South Africa, Botswana, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Lesotho, Eswatini, and Mozambique.

Reyes said improving momentum in the hospitality sector is seen to sustain as domestic tourists and MICE market are starting to move up.

The government also suspended the entry of fully vaccinated nationals or tourists coming from low-risk, non-visa-required countries or regions.

With the emergence of Omicron, the Philippines vowed to strengthen the local COVID-19 response to tackle the new variant.

The government urged the local government units to heighten their alert for increasing and clustering of cases and to emphasize the need for active case finding.

It also required local authorities to immediately conduct contact tracing and isolation of cases detected from case surveillance among the community, including domestic and international travelers, and to use RT-PCR testing to allow for whole-genome sequencing of collected samples.

The hospitality industry in Cebu registered an average of 40 percent occupancy rate in the first 11 months in 2021, a good improvement from less than 10 percent to 20 percent occupancy in 2020.