JJReyes Posted March 26, 2021 Posted March 26, 2021 Philippine authorities are participating in an Asia wide virtual discussion on creating tourism bubbles. The example is Thailand's recent announcement that vaccinated foreigners will be permitted to holiday in places like Phuket without mandatory quarantine. This will happen within 2 or 3 months when 70% of Phuket residents have been vaccinated. In other words, tourism area residents are or will be receiving vaccination priority. The first bubble for the Philippines will more likely be Boracay. The initial arrival group are Koreans through the closest international airport. Said visitors won't be permitted to leave Boracay. After first responders and healthcare workers have received theirs, I won't be surprised if a South Korea government or private entity makes a substantial donation of vaccines specific for a place like Boracay where Koreans have substantial investments. 4 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeoffH Posted March 26, 2021 Posted March 26, 2021 I had my first shot of Astra Zeneca vaccine yesterday (the second will be in 12 weeks) and I'm hanging out for vaccines to allow opening up of the Philippines borders again towards the end of this year. But Boracay and not allowed to leave there doesn't do me much good... 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JJReyes Posted March 26, 2021 Author Posted March 26, 2021 1 hour ago, GeoffH said: I had my first shot of Astra Zeneca vaccine yesterday (the second will be in 12 weeks) and I'm hanging out for vaccines to allow opening up of the Philippines borders again towards the end of this year. But Boracay and not allowed to leave there doesn't do me much good... Once visitors are permitted entry to Boracay, as requested by local government officials, other provinces will make similar demands. Everyone wants tourism revenues. Besides, partial or fully vaccinated foreigners are not the source for the increase in new Covid-19 cases nor its variants. I won't be surprise if the national governments reopens the country, with a few restrictions, in time for the Christmas holiday season. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snowy79 Posted March 27, 2021 Posted March 27, 2021 I was speaking to one of the Joint Task Force guys on Boracay last week. There is a meeting with the head of the Department of Tourism in April, he never gave too much away but did hint at a foreign travel bubble, before covid there were 3 flights daily from Wuhan to Kalibo so I'm expecting some sort of Asian bubble. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JJReyes Posted March 27, 2021 Author Posted March 27, 2021 According to CNN Philippines dated March 24, Bohol Governor Arthur Yap is proposing a bubble-to-bubble travel arrangement for his island/province. Advantages include only one international airport and five ports. This makes it easier to monitor arrivals and departures. The airport is brand new with a 2 million passengers annual capacity. The fear of Coronavirus by other nationals can be alleviated because the province's record is 234 active Covid-19 cases, 27 deaths, and more than 1,000 recoveries. Governor Yap is also requesting from the national government for vaccines good for 100,000 people. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OnMyWay Posted March 27, 2021 Posted March 27, 2021 They have a different sort of bubble planned for Subic. The article says it will be at the Manila Times College campus. Two of my daughters attend MTC, online, but the new campus is right next door to a condo complex where friends live. This might be the old campus complex up in Cubi. The government is set to open a new 500-bed mega quarantine facility in Subic next week to accommodate more Covid-19 patients. In an online press briefing on Tuesday, National Task Force (NTF) against Covid-19 Deputy Chief Implementer and testing czar Vivencio “Vince” Dizon said the facility will be built on the premises of the Manila Times College. “We will try to open it by the end of March or before Holy Week,” Dizon said. https://businessmirror.com.ph/2021/03/23/new-500-bed-mega-quarantine-facility-set-to-open-in-subic/?fbclid=IwAR0vsl8Wsnqqxv1lkmFSFIW16tphJz0uqE56AAPzAggsAHcr8xudKdhMGr0 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Forum Support Mike J Posted March 27, 2021 Forum Support Posted March 27, 2021 It will be a slow road to economic recovery, lets hope this works. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snowy79 Posted March 27, 2021 Posted March 27, 2021 I think Boracay's bubble has burst. A 7.5km island and today they lockdown the middle of it as there's 17 covid cases. 2 4 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts