People visit the Manila Bay Dolomite Beach in Manila, the Philippines, Oct. 21, 2021.(Photo: Xinhua)

 

People feed a giraffe at the Baluarte Safari Zoo in Ilocos Sur Province, the Philippines on Oct. 31, 2021.(Photo: Xinhua)

 

People are seen at a beach in La Union Province, the Philippines, Oct. 30, 2021.(Photo: Xinhua)

 

Visitors listen to a guide as they visit the Philippine National Museum in Manila, the Philippines on Oct. 19, 2021.(Photo: Xinhua)

 
The Philippines is preparing to welcome back foreign tourists to its pristine beaches and innovated "new normal" touristic attractions as the country's COVID-19 cases keep dropping and vaccination drive continue improving.

The Department of Tourism (DOT) recently unveiled its "More Fun Awaits" campaign which highlights new tourism products and packages, aiming to sustain the presence of the Philippines as a tourist destination amidst the pandemic.

Like other countries, the Philippines closed its borders to foreign tourists when the deadly coronavirus started to spread early last year. Except for select foreign nationals granted special visas, the Philippines still bars foreign tourists as part of the border measures to curb the transmission.

With most of the tourism workers inoculated, the Philippines now looks forward to being open to international visitors once again, vowing it is "more than ready to provide visitors a safe and pleasant experience."

According to the DOT's plan, fully vaccinated tourists will be welcome and whisked straight to the tourist destinations without the need for hotel quarantine.

"That is why we prioritized the vaccinations of tourism workers so we can start accepting domestic tourists and eventually foreign tourists," Tourism Secretary Berna Romulo-Puyat told a recent radio interview.

For instance, in the world-famous Boracay island in the central Philippines, she said 91.09 percent of tourism workers and 62.78 percent of the island residents had been fully vaccinated so far.

Famous for powdery white sand, shallow azure water, and spectacular sunsets, Boracay is a favorite destination for international tourists.

"Our vaccination rollouts are crucial in protecting our tourism workers as they face visitors every day," Puyat said, hoping that the island will inoculate its target population by November.

"With 100 percent of tourism workers in Boracay inoculated, the DOT is confident that in the weeks to come, tourism arrivals on the island will further increase, and more tourism establishments will be able to reopen to restore jobs," Puyat said.

Aside from the sun and beach tourist destinations that the country is well-known for, the DOT also spotlights new and enhanced bike tours, dive circuits, farm and food tourism circuits, hiking and trekking, and outdoor museums through historical and cultural tours, among others. These activities cater to tourists' "new normal" preference for outdoor activities and well-ventilated areas.

Puyat said the DOT will continue innovating and developing destinations to ensure safe, fun, and sustainable tourism for local and foreign tourists.

As a key economic driver, the tourism industry's contribution to the Philippines' gross domestic product (GDP) stood at 12.7 percent in 2019, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) data,

The COVID-19 pandemic dealt a severe blow to the tourism sector, slashing foreign arrivals and displacing service workers. The country received 8.26 million foreign tourists in 2019, including 1.74 million Chinese tourists, while in 2020 only over 1.3 million foreign tourists visited the country due to the hard lockdown imposed in March that year.

The PSA said the number of people working in the tourism industry dropped to 4.68 million in 2020 from 5.72 million in 2019. The share of tourism in the GDP also decreased to 5.4 percent in 2020.

The Philippine government has eased domestic travel restrictions as the country continues to report a dip in new COVID-19 cases after emerging from the third wave of infections that peaked in September. As of Monday, the Philippines reported a total of nearly 2.8 million confirmed cases.

According to government data, at least 26.8 million of the country's 77 million target population received full vaccine doses. In the capital region Metro Manila, home to over 13 million people, at least 8.5 million received the full vaccine doses.