How's Philippine Tourism?

[JJReyes]

There was a 75.83% decrease in Philippine tourism due to Covid-19.  It wasn't until February 2022 that the country reopened to visitors, mostly from 157 no-visa countries.  There was high optimism among government officials that in 2023 the total number will return to pre-pandemic days.  Does anyone have information if the arrivals are still as expected or has inflation dampen visitor enthusiasm?  Likewise on price increases for domestic tourism.  

 

[Mike J]

Moalboal is almost back to normal with foreign tourists, not sure about domestic.  Also many new and/or rebuilt resto/shops following the December 2021 super typhoon.

[Snowy79]

Boracay is alive and well and soon to be flooded with Chinese as direct flights from China start today. 

[manofthecoldland]

5 hours ago, Snowy79 said:

Boracay is alive and well and soon to be flooded with Chinese as direct flights from China start today. 

Looking forward to your future reports on how this plays out in your now home area of retirement.

[longway]

Masks back on in Manila is not going to help get tourists back. Also, PAL still requires masks on the Plane. As far as I know the Philippines is the only country still doing this. The numbers just don't justify these responses. It is time to close the offices of the health employees flexing their musles.

[Snowy79]

On 4/26/2023 at 3:27 PM, manofthecoldland said:

Looking forward to your future reports on how this plays out in your now home area of retirement.

I've already lived through the Chinese and Koreans here. If anything they are quieter and less messy than Filipinos. 

[Gas]

On 4/27/2023 at 5:36 AM, longway said:

Masks back on in Manila is not going to help get tourists back. Also, PAL still requires masks on the Plane. As far as I know the Philippines is the only country still doing this. The numbers just don't justify these responses. It is time to close the offices of the health employees flexing their musles.

Masks in Manila? There is no mandatory requirement to wear a mask in Manila or any of the surrounding provinces. 

[hk blues]

We went to

On 4/28/2023 at 8:47 PM, Gas said:

Masks in Manila? There is no mandatory requirement to wear a mask in Manila or any of the surrounding provinces. 

Not Manila, but we were in 3 malls yesterday - 1 required mask, the others not.

[Jollygoodfellow]

On 4/27/2023 at 5:36 AM, longway said:

Masks back on in Manila is not going to help get tourists back. Also, PAL still requires masks on the Plane. As far as I know the Philippines is the only country still doing this. The numbers just don't justify these responses. It is time to close the offices of the health employees flexing their musles.

Spoiler

DOH denies return of mandatory masks in Metro Manila

MANILA — The Department of Health (DOH) on Wednesday denied that Metro Manila would bring back the mandatory use of anti-COVID masks following an uptick in coronavirus infections. 

The DOH said a viral social media post on the supposed return of the mask mandate was "false." 

It also clarified that Metro Manila would remain under Alert Level 1, the lowest and most relaxed in the government's COVID-19 alert level system, until April 30.

This means restrictions in the area would "remain to be in the status quo," the DOH said in a statement. 

https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/04/26/23/doh-denies-return-of-face-mask-rule-in-metro-manila

 

[Jollygoodfellow]

On 4/30/2023 at 12:23 PM, hk blues said:

We went to

Not Manila, but we were in 3 malls yesterday - 1 required mask, the others not.

Since a long time, malls and any place can have their own rules as to wearing of masks.

Anyway back to Tourism