HOTEL and restaurant associations welcomed the rest of the Covid-19 government regulations regarding the masking of their consumers and the presentation of vaccination cards, and the installation of protective separators. However, some of its members may still require their respective masks on and still meet minimum public fitness standards.
Benito C. Bengzon Jr. , general manager of the Hotel Owners Association of the Philippines, told BusinessMirror: “We welcome the Department of Tourism’s [DOT] resolution to further ease restrictions on masks and vaccination cards. We take steps that will help drive the normalization of tourism operations.
He added, “On behalf of the hotels, we will continue to ensure that we provide a safe and comfortable experience for our guests. “Since the DOT’s circular memorandum states that wearing masks in tourism businesses will now be voluntary, Bengzon said. , “will be up to individual hotels whether they will continue to require their staff to wear masks while caring about guests. “
On March 5, DOT issued a new circular allowing tourism businesses to waive the requirement that visitors and consumers provide evidence of full vaccination and be dressed in face masks. The DOT also said it no longer requires tourism institutions to install plastic and acrylic barriers. and dividers in designated areas, and also ordered the removal of signs, visual signs and other amenities in mandatory protocols. (See “DOT Drop Mask, Vaxx Evidence for Tourism People,” in BusinessMirror, March 6, 2023. )
Eric Teng, president of Restaurateurs of the Philippines, said, “This resolution [issuing a memorandum through the DOT] is welcome. Restaurants are seeing their consumers come back and we have to get back into our lives. “
He added: “Although masks have not been mandatory for some time, we still propose that we stay with them. “
According to the president of Boracay Foundation Inc. , Dindo Salazar, even before the publication of the DOT memorandum, many tourism institutions on the island of Boracay “have already relaxed some restrictions such as the elimination of acrylic barriers, because we have already won a large number of guests, it is difficult to continue adhering to it.
We have to do it with Covid, that’s why we suggest our workers get booster shots.
Speaking as Henann Group’s deputy vice president of operations for Boracay Resorts, Salazar emphasized, “We are one hundred percent vaccinated with the first and current doses, and 80 percent of our workers have already gained two boosters. We have taken care of our health, especially since tourists may not be fully vaccinated. Next week, we will also lift the face mask for our staff, but only for those who have gained 4 doses. It is to ensure the protection of our workforce to better serve tourists. .
The Hotel Sales and Marketing Association Inc. believes that “new security protocols . . . also the ‘normalization’ of the market landscape, which will inspire travelers/tourists to stay in hotels. “
However, the organization emphasized that hotels “will continue to meet minimum eligibility criteria in our daily operations as we review the most productive practices implemented during the pandemic. The adequacy and protection of our consumers and staff will remain a priority and the new protocols will not replace our mindset and priorities.
HSMA President Loleth So noted that her Belmont Hotel, for example, is still masked. “For other hotels, it will have the directive of its respective management,” he added.
Circular Memorandum 2023-0002 signed through Secretary of Tourism Christina García Frasco, covers excursion businesses such as “facilities, facilities and other attractions involved in hiking, such as, among others: and excursion facilities; excursion delivery facilities, whether land, sea or air; excursion guides; adventure sports facilities involving sports such as mountaineering, caving, diving and other sports activities with high hiking potential; conference organizers; lodging establishments, including, but not limited to, hotels, resorts, apartments, hiker inns, motels, retirement homes, and guest house operators; Asset control facilities for hikers, restaurants, boutiques and branches, sports and recreational centers, spas, museums and galleries, theme parks, parks, herbaria, ancient monuments, conference centers and zoos.
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