(Ngayong taon – DOT) FOREIGN TRAVEL MALABO

MAAARING hindi pa makabiyahe sa ibang bansa ang mga Pinoy ngayong taon sa harap ng coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, ayon kay Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat.

“Travel will not revert to normal right away. Even if the ECQ has been lifted, some LGUs will not yet be open to visitors from other places and international travel might not yet happen within the year pending the travel restrictions of other nations,” wika ni Puyat sa isang virtual hearing ng House Committee on Tourism kamakailan.

“At this point in time, traveling is just but a dream,” dagdag pa niya.

Ayon kay Puyat, ang tourism industry sa bansa ang labis na naapektuhan ng COVID-19 crisis, lalo na pagdating sa economic impact nito.

“The  enforcement of travel restrictions and quarantine measures worldwide to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus generated immediate negative impacts on tourism stakeholders from micro, small and medium enterprises, aniya.

Sa pagtaya ng Department of Tourism (DOT), ang  foreign arrivals mula Enero hanggang Marso ngayong taon ay umabot lamang sa 1.3 million, mas mababa ng 40.2% kumpara sa arrivals sa kahalintulad na panahon noong nakaraang taon.

Gayundin, ang revenues mula sa  foreign arrivals sa unang tatlong buwan ng taon ay bumaba sa P79.8 billion mula P134.3 billion sa kaparehong panahon noong 2019.

“For the first few months, we might be limited to creating offers for promoting places that are only a few hours drive away from where the target consumer resides,” ani Puyat.

“All of these are being studied and evaluated by the DOT and our private stakeholder partners with regular coordination with the IATF,” dagdag ng DOT chief.

Samantala, bilang paghahanda sa ‘new normal‘ environment matapos ang  COVID-19 crisis, sinabi ni Puyat na bubuo ang DOT ng ilang polisiya at programa na ipatutupad sa tourism stakeholders ng bansa.

Kinabibilangan, aniya, ito ng regular sanitation at disinfection ng hotels, resorts at iba pang accommodations, tourism transport services at iba pang tourism-related establishments, at ng pagkakaloob ng sanitation o disinfection devices sa tourism workers.

Regular ding iinspeksiyunin ang tourism establishments, sa pangunguna ng Department of Health (DOH).