The Department of Tourism is seeking to establish travel coupons that would subsidize the cost of reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) swab tests for visitors in an attempt to make travel more accessible. Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat said in a television interview with the ANC that the DOT aims to join up with the University of the Philippines-Philippine General …

For the first time since the reopening of the destination, President Rodrigo Duterte is scheduled to visit Boracay Island in an attempt to convince the public that domestic tourism is secure in the face of the 2019 coronavirus threat (COVID-19). Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat said Duterte would travel to the island of Boracay next Thursday, March 12. As part of …

The Philippine tourism industry’s stakeholders are now bleeding as a result of the 2019 global health scare coronavirus disease (COVID-19), with hotels opting to temporarily close down and air carriers incuring millions of losses. Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat said in February tourist arrivals declined by 41 per cent due to the outbreak. Tourism Congress of the Philippines (TCP) president Jose …