‘ Travel agencies, tour operators can reopen’
TRAVEL agencies, tour operators, and related businesses and services in the country can now resume operations today at different capacities, depending on their location.
This was announced by Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez through a memorandum circular he signed on October 14 and released on Friday, which recategorized travel and tourism-related firms from Category 4 to Category 3.
According to guidelines from the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases ( IATF- EID), businesses and industries under Category 4 are not allowed to operate in areas under enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) and general community quarantine (GCQ). Those under Category 3 are permitted to reopen at 50-percent operational capacity and employing a skeletal workforce.
Subject to minimum public health and safety standards and protocols, Lopez said travel agencies, tour operators, reservation services and related services can reopen at half their capacity in areas under GCQ.
Those in areas under modified GCQ ( MGCQ) are allowed to operate at full capacity.
Areas currently under GCQ are Metro Manila; Batangas province; Tacloban City in Leyte province; Bacolod City in Negros Occidental province; Iligan City in Lanao del Norte province; and Iloilo City in Iloilo province.
All other provinces and cities are under MGCQ, except Lanao del Sur province and its capital Marawi City, which are under modified enhanced community
quarantine.
“The DTI ( Department of Trade and Industry), through the Fair Trade Enforcement Bureau and regional or provincial offices, shall monitor compliance with this circular through a post-audit mechanism,” Lopez said.
Inspection by the departments of Tourism ( DoT), Labor and Employment, and Health, and the local government’s health office, may also be conducted anytime, it added.
Amended guidelines
Also on Friday, the DoT welcomed the IATF- EID’s amended guidelines on relaxing restrictions on people traveling between destinations in areas under GCQ and MGCQ, which it expects would help the tourism sector recover from the coronavirus pandemic.
In a statement, the department cited IATF Resolution 79, which says “the interzonal movement of non-authorized persons outside residences between areas placed under GCQ and MGCQ for any purpose shall be permitted, subject to the reasonable regulations imposed by the local government unit (LGU) concerned, if any, and which should be submitted to the Department of the Interior and Local Government, or in the case of Boracay Island, subject to those imposed by the Boracay Inter-Agency Task Force.”
“These new policies approved by the IATF support the department’s programs aimed at rebuilding the tourism industry to bring back lost jobs and livelihoods and stir local economies,” Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat said in the statement.
According to her, the guidelines will empower LGUs to responsibly reopen their respective destinations to more areas outside their province or region with the minimum health and safety measures in place.
“The flexible travel movements, however, do not mean that we will be relaxing our health standards. We will continue to work with the LGUs in enforcing safety protocols and enhanced hygiene measures in all sectors of the tourism industry.” Romulo-Puyat said.