ILOILO City – The provincial government of Aklan wants all tourism workers in Boracay Island to be included in the list of priority populations for vaccination against coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).
Gov. Florencio Miraflores said they would lobby for this at the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF).
“With this, we can attract more tourists… This would further improve the market for Boracay. So hopefully, of course, after the medical health workers and senior citizens, the tourism sector will be prioritized,” said Miraflores in a virtual conference after a recent meeting with the Boracay Inter-Agency Task Force (BIATF).
The governor is hoping that foreign tourists return to Boracay this year.
“Our Korean market is actually already preparing for a comeback. I was informed that they have been negotiating with hotels already. But of course this is still subject to the BIATF rules and regulations, especially the DOT (Department of Tourism),” Miraflores added.
He also revealed working with the DOT to have a travel bubble with some of the island’s traditional market – tourists from South Korea and China.
However, he added, this is still subject to the travel protocols of both countries.
Meanwhile, Miraflores described as alarming the surge in COVID-19 cases in Metro Manila. But as far as Boracay is concerned, he said, they were sticking to their protocols, particularly requiring incoming travelers to undergo reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) test with negative results for coronavirus disease 2019.
When Boracay reopened in October 2020 after around seven months of closure to the pandemic, there were only 40 or at most 100 tourists per day, Miraflores said.
“But right now, statistics shows that the island is registering almost 1,000 tourist arrivals daily, mostly from Manila,” he stressed.
The BIATF recently approved the use of Saliva RT-PCR testing for tourists entering Boracay Island.
The governor said the use of the saliva test will be limited to Boracay tourists.
Miraflores said that aside from the Philippine Red Cross, they will expand the coverage for saliva testing to other testing centers accredited by the Department of Health and the Food and Drug Administration./PN
