Cebu province opens doors to Filipino visitors

CEBU CITY – Tourists from other provinces who are planning to visit Cebu may now be able to enter the island province with lesser restrictions.

The provincial government announced on Friday that it is opening its doors to tourists from anywhere in the country.

Tourists who wish to stay in resorts and hotels will only need to show their pre-booked reservations while those who want to experience the different tourism activities here will have to register ahead through the Capitol’s booking portal, discover.cebu.gov.ph.

Based on the latest Omnibus Guidelines on the Implementation of the Community Quarantine in the Philippines issued by the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-MEID), areas under modified general community quarantine (MGCQ) and general community quarantine (GCQ) can now cross borders with minimum requirements.

“Inter-zonal movement of persons not authorized outside of residences or non-APOR between areas placed under GCQ and MGCQ for any purpose shall be permitted subject to reasonable regulations imposed by the LGU concerned, if any,” Cebu Governor Gwendolyn Garcia said in a statement Friday.

“So it could be to go visit some relatives here, for business, or more importantly, for tourism,” she added.

Garcia reiterated the need to revive Cebu’s tourism-reliant economy as more and more people are suffering from joblessness.

Provincial tourism officer Marti Ybañez said while tourism traffic increased during the holiday season, it has dropped again this year.

Cebu was the first province to open its tourism industry as early as the end of July last year to revive the economy which has been heavily battered by the pandemic.

Garcia has been urging local leaders in public and private sectors here to push the economy forward by focusing on recovery efforts.

The Cebu Provincial Tourism Task Force will meet next week to finalize the crafting of the guidelines for the further easing of tourism reopening.

Tour operators, shipping and airline companies will also be invited to this meeting. (PNA)

Source: http://bit.ly/3ql7Sx1