Tourism is one of the most hard-hit industries by COVID-19’s impact; the Department of Tourism through the Tourism Promotions Board presents a plan which may help the industry, and the nation, recover
Given the natural beauty of the Philippines and the innate diversity of its points of interest in terms of aesthetic, ecological and historical value, the tourism sector has always been one of the strongest contributors to both social and economic progress. In years past, tourism contributed 12.7 per cent of the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and employed 13.5 per cent of its total workforce, accounting for 5.71 million jobs in total.
However, with travel bans being imposed across the globe and localised quarantines being implemented in the strictest fashion by regional and local governments, Philippine tourism is one of the industries devastated by Covid-19. This has been quite a blow to the nation, but given how medical caseloads are beginning to go down, Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat of the Department of Tourism (DOT) is optimistic about gradually reopening the country to both domestic and foreign tourists. As this article goes to press, several major local destinations have already reopened for local visitors, albeit under strict protocols for their health and safety.
The current roster includes Boracay, Baguio, the Ilocos and Pangasinan region, Bohol and El Nido in Palawan. It is the DOT’s hope that, over the next several weeks, other provincial destinations will follow suit. “We are counting on domestic tourism to revive the economy and bring back jobs and livelihoods in the meantime,” Puyat says of this staggered approach to reopening the country to travellers. “[It] is the backbone of our industry, comprising 10.8 per cent of [what the industry] contributes to the GDP. It will take time, but we hope [that currently open destinations] will lead the way for other local government units to develop a travel scheme that doesn’t sacrifice the health and safety of their constituents.”