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The move, which comes on the heels of a sudden drop in COVID-19 infections, will provide a much-needed boost to the country’s tourism industry.
A in El Nido, on the Philippine island of Palawan.
The Philippines announced that it is fully open to vaccinated foreign travelers, after a nearly two-year ban imposed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. According to the Associated Press, vaccinated foreign travelers from the 157 countries that have visa-waiver agreements with the Philippines will now be able to stop in the country without having to go through quarantine. Visitors will also want to have tested negative for the virus prior to departure.
Delivering the decision, Secretary of State for Tourism Berna Rómulo-Puyat said it marked the beginning of the “next bankruptcy on the road to recovery” and would provide much-needed restorative seasoning to the country’s tourism sector and communities. who count on him. in it. up.
With yesterday’s decision, the Philippines has become the latest Southeast Asian country to lift all border restrictions in a bid to repair suffering tourism sectors and promote economic recovery. Indonesia opened the island of Bali to tourists from all countries on February 4, three days after Thailand resumed its quarantine-free “Test and Go” program, which had been suspended for a month due to the Omicron variant of COVID-19. 19.
The Thai government also announced earlier this week that it was contemplating creating bubbles with Malaysia and China, two main sources of tourist arrivals to Asia. Meanwhile, the Malaysian government has advised that the country reopen its borders from March 1 without mandatory quarantine for ers. .
Oddly enough, those openings come at a time when the outbreak is intensifying, driven mostly by the highly infectious Omicron variant. Over the weekend, Indonesia recorded its highest number of cases in six months. Malaysia reported 17,134 new COVID-19 cases yesterday, the highest figure in just five months, while the Vietnamese government recorded just about 24,000 cases yesterday, amid a wave whose peaks surpassed those of last year.
Meanwhile, Thailand recorded 14,822 new COVID-19 infections, the highest number since September. This prompted the government to warn that the Songkran Water Festival could be cancelled for the third year in a row if the number of daily cases exceeds 30,000 people.
Indeed, the one outlier of the cases cited above is the Philippines. Just after the new year, the country experienced a wild outbreak in which daily caseloads exceeded the peaks of last year’s devastating Delta surge. However, in recent weeks the country’s curve of infections has come sharply down, reinforcing the evidence, gleaned from other countries including South Africa, that the Omicron variant spreads with lightning efficiency but then burns itself out rapidly. This likely explains the willingness of Southeast Asian governments, so cautious during the first two years of the pandemic, to roll the dice on full border openings while case numbers are still high.
As I wrote last week about the recovery of Indonesian tourism in Bali, those reopenings would likely mark “the beginning of the end of the Great Southeast Asian Tourism Recession” and offer a nourishing respite to thousands of others whose livelihoods depend on foreign flows. Travelers in the area. But public hesitation, new COVID-19 variants, and the continued stagnation of tourism from China (where a zero-COVID policy is holding back the largest source of tourists in many countries in the region) ensure that recovery will take time. One minute.
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The Philippines yesterday announced its full opening to vaccinated foreign travelers, after a nearly two-year ban imposed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. According to the Associated Press, vaccinated foreign travelers from the 157 countries that have visa-free arrangements with the Philippines will now be able to visit the country without having to undergo a quarantine. The visitors will also be required to have tested negative for the virus prior to departure.
Delivering the decision, Secretary of State for Tourism Berna Romulo-Puyat said it marked the beginning of the “next bankruptcy on the road to recovery” and would provide much-needed restorative seasoning to the country’s tourism sector and the communities that rely on it. in it. above.
With yesterday’s decision, the Philippines has become the latest Southeast Asian country to lift all border restrictions in a bid to repair suffering tourism sectors and promote economic recovery. Indonesia opened the island of Bali to tourists from all countries on February 4, three days after Thailand resumed its quarantine-free “Test and Go” program, which had been suspended for a month due to the Omicron variant of COVID-19. 19.
The Thai government also announced earlier this week that it is considering the establishment of travel bubbles with Malaysia and China, two major sources of Asia tourist arrivals. Meanwhile, authorities in Malaysia have recommended that the country reopen its borders as early as March 1 without mandatory quarantine for travelers.
Oddly enough, those openings come at a time when the epidemic is intensifying, driven in most cases by the highly infectious Omicron variant. At the end of the week, Indonesia recorded its highest number of cases in six months. Malaysia reported 17,134 new COVID-19 cases yesterday, the highest figure in a five-month high, while the Vietnamese government recorded just about 24,000 cases yesterday, part of an increase that has surpassed those at the end of last year.
Meanwhile, Thailand recorded 14,822 new COVID-19 infections, the highest number since September. This prompted the government to warn that the Songkran Water Festival could be cancelled for the third year in a row if the number of daily cases exceeds 30,000 people.
Indeed, the one outlier of the cases cited above is the Philippines. Just after the new year, the country experienced a wild outbreak in which daily caseloads exceeded the peaks of last year’s devastating Delta surge. However, in recent weeks the country’s curve of infections has come sharply down, reinforcing the evidence, gleaned from other countries including South Africa, that the Omicron variant spreads with lightning efficiency but then burns itself out rapidly. This likely explains the willingness of Southeast Asian governments, so cautious during the first two years of the pandemic, to roll the dice on full border openings while case numbers are still high.
As I wrote last week about the recovery of Indonesian tourism in Bali, hopefully those reopenings could mark “the beginning of the end of the Great Southeast Asian Tourism Recession” and provide a nourishing respite to thousands of people whose livelihoods depend on the flows of foreign travelers in the region, but public hesitation, new COVID-19 variants, and the continued stagnation of tourism from China – where a “zero-Covid” policy is holding back the largest source of tourists in many countries in the region – that recovery will take time, take one small step at a time.
The Philippines announced that it is fully open to vaccinated foreign travelers, after a nearly two-year ban imposed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. According to the Associated Press, vaccinated foreign travelers from the 157 countries that have visa-waiver agreements with the Philippines will now be able to stop in the country without having to go through quarantine. Visitors will also want to have tested negative for the virus prior to departure.
Delivering the decision, Secretary of State for Tourism Berna Romulo-Puyat said it marked the beginning of the “next bankruptcy on the road to recovery” and would provide much-needed restorative seasoning to the country’s tourism sector and the communities that rely on it. in it. above.
Sebastian Strangio is Southeast Asia editor at The Diplomat.