JORDAN, Guimaras – The island province of Guimaras welcomed 38,216 tourists in the last three months of 2020, according to the Provincial Tourism Office (PTO).
Most of these tourists were motorcycle and bicycle enthusiasts who found the island’s terrain enjoyable to traverse, said PTO officer-in-charge Liberty Ferrer.
Other tourists, on the other hand, were attracted to Guimaras’ beach and inland resorts, said Ferrer.
From October to December 2020, most of the tourists entered Guimaras on weekends.
Ferrer lauded the provincial government’s decision to open Guimaras to local tourists (from within Western Visayas only for now) beginning on the last week of October 2020. She said it would help energize the island’s tourism industry.
Visitors, however, should not have signs and symptoms of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), not a probable or suspected case, and not a close contact of a confirmed COVID-19 case.
Visitors must also fill out health declaration cards for future contact tracing if necessary.
Previously, only the following were allowed to enter Guimaras:
* those working in the island province
* those delivering basic services
* emergency cases
Since March last year, Guimaras has recorded 265 COVID-19 cases of which four died.
As of yesterday, the island province had nine active COVID-19 cases left; 252 cases have already recovered.
Seven of the active cases were in Buenavista town. The two others were in Jordan and Nueva Valencia./PN
