The Philippines is welcoming back foreign travellers after two whole years were lost to the pandemic. The pandemic, a volcanic eruption and typhoons caused major losses to the tourism industry.
After nearly 2-years of a ban on foreign travellers, the Philippines has now allowed them to enter the country, on Thursday. This comes as a sigh of relief to the toppling tourism and related industries of the country.
The Philippines will allow travellers who have been fully vaccinated and tested negative from 157 countries with visa-free arrangements to enter its borders. They will no longer be required to quarantine upon arrival. The risk clarification system, which banned travellers from worst-hit countries, has also been removed now by the government.
Speaking of the same, Tourism Secretary Berna Romulo-Puyat said, “We will begin the next chapter in the road to recovery.” She further added that this will allow them to restore jobs and generate revenue across tourism and related industries.
The country had imposed one of the world’s longest lockdowns as well as the strictest police-enforced quarantine to deal with the threats caused by the pandemic. This forced the country to witness its worst economic recession since the 1940s. Unemployment and hunger were pushed to record levels as well.
In the Philippines, tourism destinations, including famous beaches and tropical island resorts resembled ghost towns at the height of the pandemic. According to the government data, more than 1 million Filipinos lost their jobs in the tourism businesses and destinations in the first year of the pandemic itself. The situation was worsened by a volcanic eruption and typhoons which caused huge losses.
The Philippines had earlier decided to reopen its borders on December 1, 2021, but was forced to postpone it owing to the spread of the highly contagious omicron variant.