KALIBO, Aklan – The Sangguniang Panlalawigan of Aklan authorized Gov. Florencio Miraflores to enter into a memorandum of agreement (MOA) with the Tourism Promotions Board (TPB) for the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) testing of Boracay Island’s tourism and hospitality workers.
TPB, an attached agency of Department of Tourism (DOT), is responsible for the promotion and marketing of the Philippines as a major global tourism destination by assisting the development of its tourism products and services to increase tourism investments and tourist arrivals.
With the reopening of mass tourism, DOT and its attached agencies want to ensure the safety and health of workers in the tourist zones as well as to restore the confidence of visitors that it is safe to travel to Aklan and Boracay Island.
DOT, through the TPB’s Special Contingency Fund, has allocated P10 million for “Project RT-PCR” testing for hospitality and tourism workers of Boracay.
Malay town acting mayor Floribar Bautista said tourism workers in Boracay needed to get tested at the expense of the government to reduce the spread of coronavirus.
The project will pave the way for the periodic reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) testing at no cost to the workers.
Boracay was among the earliest tourist destinations to reopen to tourism on June 16, allowing travelers from Western Visayas only to enter the island.
On Oct. 1, the island reopened its doors to travelers from general community quarantine areas.
As per safety guidelines, incoming travelers must still submit negative COVID-19 RT-PCR test to be undertaken not earlier than 72 hours before their travel to Boracay Island.
Quarantine is no longer required for visitors upon arrival in the island but they have to stay in DOT-accredited accommodation establishments./PN
