BORACAY – The impact of the 2019 novel coronavirus acquired respiratory disease (2019 nCoV ARD) to this island’s tourism industry could be worse than the its closure for rehabilitation, according to a liaison officer.
Peter Tay, liaison officer to Boracay from the Chinese Embassy, relayed his fears that the travel ban could hurt “deeper” into the tourism businesses and travel spending of the visitors in the island.
“This is worse than Boracay closure; we don’t know when the situation is going to end. It is going bad to worse. When Boracay closure happened, you could look forward for Oct. 26 re-opening. Itong situation ngayon hindi natin alam when it will end,” Tay said on Feb. 3.
He added the local tourism will anticipate a marked decline of travelers from mainland China this year amid the precautionary measures to contain the spread of the Wuhan coronavirus in the country.
“We were caught by surprised, but we have to accept that this is actually happening. No hard feelings. I am more worried of the livelihood of the local workers affected by the situation,” he said.
Tay encouraged hotel workers to visit hospitals or medical care facilities if they are experiencing cough and difficulty in breathing for necessary precautions.
It was on Feb.2 that President Rodrigo Duterte restricted the inbound travel of foreigners from China and its administrative regions to the country. He also required Filipinos and those who hold permanent resident visas to undergo 14-day quarantine upon arriving in the Philippines.
The directive, however, didn’t state how long the temporary ban will last.
Around 60 percent of the activities, as well as majority of vendors, tattoo artists and beach masseuses here are affected by the temporary ban.
Although, this world-famous resort island hasn’t come to complete standstill, it still remains to accommodate Koreans, Taiwanese and tourists from long-haul destinations.
Chinese operators of restaurants have decided to postpone their business, while hotels across the island have recorded cancellations from tourists.
Various airlines have also suspended their flights to and from China, Macau and Hong Kong.
The island – which saw 434,175 Chinese tourists or 50 percent of the 865,419 foreigners last year – is usually packed with inbound travelers during the peak months of January to May.
Meanwhile, acting Malay mayor Frolibar Bautista said all sectors will likely feel the impact of the temporary ban.
“Malaki ang apekto sa transport, hotels, resorts, lahat ng activities sa Boracay dahil sa temporary ban sa mga Chinese tourists. Hindi naman natin ma-compromised ang health at safety ng ating mga residente at ibang turista,” he added.
As of this writing, over 300 people have died in China and more than 14,600 others were infected worldwide.
Cases of the deadly virus have been reported in countries including Italy, Japan, United Emirates, Korea, Malaysia, Australia, Russia, Hong Kong, Vietnam, Singapore, India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Germany, United States, Spain, Canada, France, Finland, Cambodia, United Kingdom, and Sweden.(With a report from Akean Forum/PN)
