BIG FISH A tourist swims with the whale sharks of Oslob town in southern Cebu in this photo taken in December 2020. Cebu officials are hopeful that the province’s reopening to foreign travelers will revive tourism-related jobs and help local businesses recover from the impact of pandemic restrictions. —DALE G. ISRAEL
CEBU CITY—Officials of Cebu province opened the island to fully vaccinated foreign tourists on Thursday, as the government further eases restrictions brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic.
But by March 1, Cebu Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia said the province would welcome everyone, regardless of vaccination status.
Under Executive Order No. 3-2022 issued by Garcia on Wednesday, unvaccinated foreign tourists would be allowed to enter the province as long as they could present a negative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) test result taken within 48 hours prior to the departure from the country of origin.
Unvaccinated tourists should also be swabbed upon arrival at Mactan-Cebu International Airport (MCIA) and must undergo a facility-based quarantine until the release of their second RT-PCR test result taken on the fifth day.
“Unvaccinated foreign nationals are strongly encouraged to get vaccinated during their stay in Cebu. The single-dose Janssen (Johnson & Johnson) vaccine shall be made available by the Department of Health (DOH) for unvaccinated foreign nationals,” Garcia said in her EO.
It was not yet clear though who would shoulder the cost of administering the vaccines on foreign tourists, although shots are given by the government for free to all Filipinos.
In a text message, Dr. Mary Jean Loreche, spokesperson for the Visayas Vaccination Operations Center, said the matter was still subject to a discussion with the DOH.
For fully vaccinated tourists arriving starting Thursday, Garcia’s EO adopted the measures set by Resolution No. 160-B of the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF), the pandemic response body which sets the guidelines in reopening the country to international tourists.
Biggest industry
The Philippines on Feb. 10 reopened its borders to fully vaccinated foreigners traveling to the country for leisure or business purposes. Unvaccinated travelers are required to undergo a mandatory quarantine, as stated in the IATF order.
In an earlier interview, Garcia said Cebu was already preparing for the arrival of foreigners which would help revive local tourism, one of the biggest income generators in Cebu.
Garcia said she initially met with tourism industry players under the Cebu Provincial Tourism Task Force to prepare for the influx of foreign tourists.
“Majority of our [local governments’] economies are tourism-based and [mostly] dependent on the foreign market, the foreign tourists,” Garcia said during the Feb. 7 meeting attended by representatives from the DOH in Central Visayas, MCIA, Hotels and Resorts Association of Cebu, and tour operators.
In 2019, a year before the pandemic was declared, Cebu hosted 1.4 million foreign tourists, according to the Department of Tourism.
Cebu, home to MCIA, the country’s second busiest airport, was only 200,000 foreign visitors short of arrivals recorded on Boracay Island, the top tourist destination in the country, with 1.6 million foreign guests that same year.
BEACH DESTINATION Tourists, in this November 2021 photo, enjoy the sea breeze in Madridejos town on Bantayan Island, a popular beach and ecotourism destination in northern Cebu. —DALE G. ISRAEL
Destinations open
As part of the preparations, Garcia said she would revive the “health and wellness” brand for Cebu tourism which she started in August 2020 amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Among those promoted by the provincial government as part of its regimen to fight infection were “tuob,” or steam inhalation; intake of natural vitamin C from citrus fruits and turmeric, and food supplements; and the “curative” effect of the sea breeze.
The governor said the province’s rebranding as a health and wellness destination, on top of its tourism package offerings, was aimed to promote home remedies to keep people healthy in the middle of the pandemic.
But some areas in the southern parts of Cebu, however, are still under rehabilitation following the severe devastation brought about by Typhoon “Odette” (international name: Rai) last year, including the dive site on Pescador Island in Moalboal town and Kawasan Falls in Badian town.
Most tourist destinations in Cebu, however, are now open for visitors, including whale shark watching activities in Oslob town, which is popular to foreigners.
Northern destinations, including Bantayan Island and Malapascua Island, have been spared by the typhoon, which battered the Visayas and parts of Mindanao on Dec. 16 last year.