cebu tourist arrivals 2022

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Cebu ready to host foreign tourists

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.

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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.

For more news about the novel coronavirus click here. What you need to know about Coronavirus. For more information on COVID-19, call the DOH Hotline: (02) 86517800 local 1149/1150.

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Cebu getting set to accept foreign tourists

CEBU CITY – The province of Cebu, one of the country's top tourist destinations, is gearing up for the country's reopening of its borders to fully vaccinated foreign tourists.

Cebu Governor Gwendolyn Garcia said the province will immediately open its doors to foreign tourists once it finalizes its own protocols.

Garcia said she will be issuing a memorandum to serve as guidelines.

“This is in order to map out our own protocols here. And I’ll come up with a memorandum,” Garcia told reporters in a press briefing Monday, Feb. 7.

Accepting foreign tourists once again was discussed when Garcia on Monday met with travel and tourism stakeholders as well as Consuls General from South Korea, Japan, and China.

Among those present in the meeting were Consuls Toshihide Kawasaki (Japan), Jia Li (China), and Uhm Won Jae (South Korea).

The province's top foreign arrivals are those from China, Japan and South Korea.

Also present in the meeting were representatives from the Central Visayas offices of the Department of Tourism (DOT), Department of Health (DOH), and the Mactan-Cebu International Airport (MCIA), Hotel Resort and Restaurant Association of Cebu (HRRAC), airline companies, and tour operators.

The country restrictes international travels in 2020 when a pandemic was declared due to the deadly COVID-19.

The national government has announced that starting Feb. 10, the country will be reopening its doors to tourists from non-Visa countries again.

In opening its borders, the national government will still require unvaccinated tourists to undergo the mandatory facility-based quarantine except for the fully vaccinated tourists.

Arriving fully vaccinated tourists will be required to present negative RT-PCR results, indicating they were not infected at least 48 hours prior to their arrival.

Garcia said she will abide with most of the recommendations from the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Disease (IATF).

Garcia, however, said the province may introduce new policies such as offering a single-jab COVID-19 vaccine to unvaccinated tourists.

Owing to its various outdoor activities like canyoneering, diving, and whale-shark watching, Cebu is one of the most popular tourist destinations in the country.

DOT figures showed that in 2019, Cebu attracted approximately 1.7 million foreign tourists, making the province, including the three large cities of Cebu, Mandaue, and Lapu-Lapu, as the most visited place that year.

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Tourism in Cebu gains more ground; Additional flights expected

A passenger plane at Terminal 2 of Mactan-Cebu International Airport (MCIA) | CDN Photo by Morexette Marie Erram

CEBU CITY, Philippines – As tourism in Cebu gains more ground during the first half of 2022, stakeholders here are expecting more flights connecting the island province to other destinations both locally and globally.

Members of the travel and hospitality sector are projecting significant improvement in the industry during the third and fourth quarters of this year.

Alfred Reyes, president of the Hotel Resort and Restaurant Association of Cebu (HRRAC), said the reopening of South Korea and Japan would help boost arrivals and even result in mounting more international flights to Cebu.

“Japan is expected to reopen this June and (direct flights from Cebu to) South Korea (will resume) this July… We’re slowly recovering at this point but we’re looking to really improve between the third and fourth quarters,” said Reyes.

In a separate interview, Cebu Governor Gwendolyn Garcia also forecasted the same outcome for the province’s tourism sector, which is also considered one of its bread and butter.

Citing the Capitol’s recent meeting with airport stakeholders, Garcia said they are expecting international air traffic to start picking up this June.

“Domestic flights have gone up to 58 percent. Well, international flights are still below 10 percent but that is foreseen to change when there would be more flights coming in,” said Garcia.

Like Reyes, the governor pointed to the reopening of Japan and South Korea as the primary factor behind this possibility.

Japan and South Korea are two of Cebu’s top markets when it comes to foreign arrivals.

In the meantime, Cebu province has already dropped RT-PCR test results as a requirement for entry for tourists from abroad.

READ: No more swab tests needed for fully vaccinated tourists with booster shots

The new rule, however, will only apply to those who have been fully vaccinated and have been administered with at least one booster dose.

“I am very positive and optimistic that our international arrivals will soon be rapidly increasing,” said Garcia.

Aside from flights, the governor said reservations and bookings in hotels, resorts, and other similar establishments in Cebu continue to increase during the first six months of 2022.

Cebu is home to Mactan-Cebu International Airport (MCIA), the country’s second-busiest airport. The island province is also one of the country’s popular tourist destinations, both for domestic and foreign tourists.

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