As Philippine tourist sites reopen, DOT wants uniform travel requirements

The Department of Tourism (DOT) has lauded local government units (LGUs) for their efforts in reopening safe tourist destinations all over the country in answer to the increasing interest in travel and tour activities.

“We are truly impressed with the efforts of the LGUs for extending a hand to our tourism industry stakeholders in getting back on their feet again, as well as making available safe tourism sites to our fellow Filipinos who long for outdoor activities,” said DOT Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat.

Puyat complimented the LGUs’ strict implementation of their respective health and safety protocols, even as a consensus developed among the members of the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-MEID) for “uniform travel requirements” that are within the existing omnibus interim guidelines.

The task force, in its Dec. 14 meeting, agreed to mandate clinical and exposure assessment for travelers; simplify and condense the pathways into two algorithms — for inbound international travelers and interzonal domestic travelers; provide LGUs a free hand to determine appropriate protocols aligned with the omnibus interim guidelines; and, enjoin implementing agencies to issue necessary supplementary guidelines.

“Given these parameters, and in order to facilitate the ease of travel of our kababayans, we strongly support the proposal for LGUs to adopt a uniform set of guidelines, listing the requirements and step-by-step procedure, for compliance of visitors to tourist destinations,” Puyat said.

The DOT chief cited the VIS.I.TA digital travel app currently being used by the Ridge to Reef travel corridor of Baguio City, Ilocos Norte, and Ilocos Sur. She said this has proven effective not only as a contact tracing and visitor capacity control mechanism but also for planning and research purposes.

“We want all destinations to take advantage of this digital system for free, through our attached agency, the Tourism Promotions Board (TBP),” she added.

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