150 Bulacan resorts back in business

BACK IN BUSINESS The Klir Waterpark Resort and Hotel in Guiguinto town, Bulacan, is now receiving guests as restrictions on leisure travel have been eased in the province. —CARMELA REYES-ESTROPE

CITY OF MALOLOS, Bulacan, Philippines — About 150 of the 300 resorts in Bulacan were allowed to resume operations this month as quarantine restrictions were eased in the province, officials said on Sunday.

But resort owners were only permitted to operate on a 30-percent capacity while the province is on general community quarantine (GCQ), the second least restrictive quarantine classification in the country.

Eliseo dela Cruz, Bulacan tourism officer, said they were expecting an influx of tourists coming from the National Capital Region and the provinces of Laguna, Cavite, Rizal that composed the so-called NCR Plus bubble with Bulacan.

The entire NCR Plus bubble is also currently on GCQ until June 15.

Bulacan’s tourism sector lost around P2 billion in projected revenues since the pandemic struck in March last year.

Resorts in Bulacan were initially preparing to resume operations for the peak season, which is from March to May, as they anticipated more relaxed quarantine protocols in the country at that time.

But the surging cases of the coronavirus disease in the province and its neighboring areas led the government to place it on enhanced community quarantine (ECQ), the strictest form of quarantine, in March.

The ECQ forced resorts to shelve their reopening since leisure activities were prohibited.

—CARMELA REYES-ESTROPE