The Department of Tourism (DOT) expressed support for the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG)’s ongoing streamlining of travel procedures and requirements imposed by local government units (LGUs).
“The DOT has long been advocating for the simplification of travel requirements as this is critical in making domestic tourism work,” DOT Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat remarked.
As shown in the recently-conducted survey entitled, “The Evolving Landscape of Domestic Tourism”, conducted by the DOT from November 28 to December 30, 2020, in partnership with the Asian Institute of Management (AIM) – Dr. Andrew L. Tan Center for Tourism, and Guide to the Philippines (GTTP), 81 percent of respondents consider the varying LGU requirements as the factor that makes travel most inconvenient.
Among the common travel requirements asked by the LGUs are the medical certificate, other types of pre-travel or test-on-arrival COVID tests and quarantine.
At the destinations, some rules that need to be standardized are those that relate to RT-PCR for children/infant, rooming or capacity limits and age restrictions vis-à-vis inter- and intra-regional movement of domestic tourists.
“Streamlining entry requirements will make travelling in the new normal more convenient while also protecting the public’s safety and well-being. Furthermore, this will also help in preventing the entry of those who falsify documents by standardizing validation protocols,” Secretary Puyat added.
